On the recordMay 25, 2010
Mr. President, I rise today to explain my opposition to the Restoring America's Financial Stability Act, which the Senate passed last week. It is now clear that over the past decade or so, certain factors played a critical role in leading our Nation into the financial crisis that first reached critical mass and arrested the credit markets in 2007, subsequently leading to the collapse of some of our largest financial services firms, and culminated with a crash of the stock market in late 2008 and again in early 2009. These underlying factors and resulting events produced a widespread crisis and a devastating recession with massive job loss and sustained record unemployment, all of which continue to be felt by families throughout Ohio and States across America. In response, we in Congress have taken up legislation that supposedly aims to correct what went wrong and restore safety, soundness, and stability to our financial markets to foster recovery and fortify the foundation for a strong economy. Why, then, have I opposed the passage of this legislation? Simply put, because it does not get the job done. This legislation fails to address the root causes of our current crisis, while severely overreaching in its expanded regulation of businesses large and small throughout the economy.…





