Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to discuss the very important bill we are very hopeful we can move on today to start the debate on Wall Street reform. I understand there may be an agreement to move forward with this bill. We don't know that yet. If it is true that we have an agreement to start the debate on this bill, then it is very fitting that I go through why this bill is so important. If we don't have an agreement, then it is even more fitting because we know the American people got severely hurt by the crisis on Wall Street, by the fall of many of our financial institutions, and they were not the ones who were supposed to be hurt. So we need to fix this so it doesn't happen again. Nearly 3 years after the financial system began to melt down, America continues to suffer the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, homes, and their retirement savings. Although some key indicators are beginning to move in the right direction, many families, such as those we know in Minnesota, are still struggling, and the economic damage is very slow to heal in their towns. On Wall Street, however, it seems to be back to business as usual. Last year, Wall Street's largest firms handed out record bonuses totaling nearly $146 billion, an 18-percent increase from 2008. Meanwhile, overall U.S. per capita income declined 2.6 percent.…”