Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank the Chair. I have sought recognition to comment briefly on a hearing which will be held by the Criminal Law Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary on May 4 concerning allegations of improper practices on Wall Street. In light of the allegations of misconduct on Wall Street in recent years and the consequential damages to the economy of the United States and worldwide, serious consideration should be given to whether civil liability and fines are sufficient or whether jail sentences are required to deal with such conduct and as a deterrence to others. With civil liability or a fine, the companies or individuals calculate it as part of the cost of doing business, but a jail sentence is enormously different. The charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing Goldman Sachs of securities fraud in a civil lawsuit has brought intense public concern to conduct on Wall Street which has long been questioned. According to the SEC complaint, Goldman permitted a client who was betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to include in the portfolio. Goldman then sold the investments to pension funds, insurance companies, and banks. The client was betting the securities would decline in value based on his knowledge of the underlying value.…”