Political Quotes

“I thank my friend from Missouri. We have been working on this now 2\1/2\ to 3 years. The bill is fairly simple, Mr. Chairman, in what it actually does. It just takes a second to read the operative line that an appropriate banking Federal agency may not formally or informally request or order a depository institution to terminate a specific customer account without a really good reason. I want people to think about that, Mr. Chairman. The fact that we have to actually debate this frightens me. The fact that we have to bring a bill to the floor of the United States House that says the Federal Government regulators cannot force a bank to close an account without a good reason should frighten people. I heard Mr. Luetkemeyer talk about many of the companies that have been impacted: gun manufacturers, pawnshops. It has now spread, Mr. Chairman, to individuals. We are hearing reports that individuals engaged in legal businesses-- every single one of the victims are engaged in legal activity. We are hearing now that individuals who happen to engage in legal poker playing in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is a completely legal endeavor--you may not like it--are having their bank accounts shut off by the Federal Government. My dad told me when I got to this job: The difference between the government when I was your age and the government that you are going into is that I was never afraid of my government.…”