Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this week, as the Senate moves forward with consideration of Wall Street reform legislation, I am optimistic that legislation will be passed that reforms our financial system and prevents those who nearly brought down the economy from ever being able to do that again. As we have heard many times over the last several weeks, the bill creates a mechanism to monitor the economy for nationwide trends and risky patterns that could lead to problems. It establishes a consumer watchdog dedicated to identifying and preventing lending trends that are harmful to consumers. In addition to preventing future bailouts, the bill also requires that most financial speculation be done in the open, while addressing the underlying problem that allowed the banks to go casino-crazy in the first place. It also brings derivatives into a transparent marketplace. I believe all these changes will make the American financial system more transparent, accountable and responsive to future risks. It has been discouraging to see some Members and special interests opposed to these changes. In fact, I believe it is hard to argue against these reforms with a straight face. Yet those against reforming Wall Street have been doing just that, asserting that making markets fair and transparent will somehow hurt the economy. These reforms will help, not hurt, American consumers, small banks and small businesses.…”