Political Quotes

“I strongly support the reform bill before us, S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. I commend Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and Majority Leader Harry Reid for shepherding this significant piece of legislation through the Senate. Getting to this point was no small feat given the near-unanimous opposition to Wall Street reform that this effort has encountered from the other side of the aisle. But Senators Dodd and Reid persevered because they know that fixing our troubled financial system is absolutely, unequivocally in the best interests of our country and its citizens. The recent financial crisis revealed several flaws in our current regulatory system. Many large Wall Street investment banks and insurance companies hid their shaky finances from stockholders and government regulators. Corporate executives saw their salaries rise to extreme heights, even as their companies were failing and seeking government assistance. Through it all, federal regulatory agencies failed to provide the necessary oversight to rein in reckless actions. If this crisis has taught us anything, it is that the look-the-other way, hands-off deregulatory policies that were in vogue in recent times can jeopardize not only private investments, but our entire economy. The bill we are voting on today goes directly at the heart of the Wall Street excesses that brought our economy to the brink.”