Tim Walz: “I thank the gentleman from Michigan. I'd also like to thank the chairman for his support of this bill and eloquent…”

“I thank the gentleman from Michigan. I'd also like to thank the chairman for his support of this bill and eloquent response on it. It's been a long 6-year journey to pass this reform. It has taken hard work and a bipartisan effort. The American people expect and deserve that. When I first came to Congress in 2006 after spending a lifetime of teaching social studies in the public school classroom, I was approached by the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) and Brian Baird, our former Member from Washington State. He said, You were sent here to make a difference and do things differently. If you really believe in reform, take a look at this bill. I got involved right after that, and Representative Slaughter, I can say, has been a stalwart supporter of this bill. She understood this is far more than just about clarifying insider trading. This is about restoring faith to the institution. {time} 0930 She was concerned about the ethics of this body before ethics seemed to be in vogue. It has been in vogue her whole lifetime. She has lived that sermon of ethics and of living by the rules instead of just giving it, and that I appreciate. The integrity of this institution stands above all else. As the sacred holders of the privilege, the honor and the responsibility given to us by our neighbors to self-govern ourselves, we must make sure that this institution is never tarnished; and this bill goes a long way to doing that.…”