Marcy Kaptur: “In 1999, Congress, sadly, repealed the Glass-Steagall Act. That law had protected our Nation for over seven decades…”

“In 1999, Congress, sadly, repealed the Glass-Steagall Act. That law had protected our Nation for over seven decades against wild speculation by Wall Street investment houses and financial giants. When the floodgates were removed between prudent banking and speculative abandon, again, Wall Street gambled with the money of the American consumers. Look where it took us, into the worst recession since the Great Depression, into a world where we've had the largest transfer in American history of wealth from Main Street to Wall Street; and the flood continues. Now, your savings deposits and certificates of deposits earn almost no interest. Guess who's making money off your money? In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of enactment of the Glass- Steagall Act, Congress must adopt the Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2013, H.R. 129. I invite all Members to cosponsor our bipartisan bill to reinstall the floodgates that protected the public from Wall Street greed. The Glass-Steagall Act, or Banking Act of 1933, was signed into law during the Great Depression in an effort to restore order and stability to the banking system. Representative Henry Steagall and Senator Carter Glass wrote the law and, through its passage, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created. The law prevented commercial banks from trading securities with deposits from their clients. After its repeal in 1999, the Wall Street banks, true to form, again created false money with abandon.…”