Political Quotes

“Madam President, it is very helpful to have a former CEO of a company such as Citigroup weigh in on the challenges before us. John Reed, as former chairman and CEO of Citigroup, is in a position to reflect on the deregulation and the combination of the roles of lending banks and investment houses and how it contributed to creating the economic catastrophe that became the great recession. I speak now to my colleagues to say that we need your help in creating a firewall between highly risky proprietary investments and the basic lending functions of banks. It is like storing fireworks in your living room. Fireworks are wonderful, and there is no problem with utilizing them on the Fourth of July or New Years. But you don't store them in your living room where they might end up burning down your house. Second, we need clear conflict of interest rules that make sure that the investment houses maintain integrity with their customers, so that if they are promoting a security to their customers, they are not doing so while separately and secretly betting against it. These reforms are important. They are an important part of the financial rules of the road that will be healthy for Wall Street and for the foundation of our economy. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.”