Frank Lautenberg: “I think it has been said before, but here we go again. What we have just seen tells us what the American people ought to…”

“I think it has been said before, but here we go again. What we have just seen tells us what the American people ought to know. There are fundamental questions being asked of Senators this week, principal of those: Whose side are you on? Whom do you work for? On Monday, Tuesday, and yet again today we got an answer. On the other side of the aisle they made it clear. They stand with the big banks. They do not stand with the infrastructure of everyday people who make this country the great place we have become. They do not stand for opportunities such as the ones that allowed Americans to come together after World War II to get an education, get jobs, become the greatest generation that built our Nation into the greatest on Earth. Instead, our friends across the aisle stand with Wall Street lobbyists who demand that we do not take up this bill. What an outrage. They stand for maintaining a banking system that denies people and businesses the funds they need and sells people mortgages they cannot afford, while lining executives' pockets with billions in compensation. The picture is quite clear. It is very obvious as to what has taken place here. After hearing the demands of the Wall Street lobbyists, the other side of the aisle systematically marches down here and votes no in lockstep, not once, not twice but three times.”