FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
We Must Strengthen, Not Weaken the Senate Bill
Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform released the following statement today as the Senate begins debate on financial reform legislation.
Heather Booth, Director, Americans for Financial Reform: “I hope the over ten thousand people marching on Wall Street today will send a clear signal to Washington that the American people will not settle for watered down financial reform legislation. Eight million Americans lost their jobs because of the recession caused largely by the reckless behavior of the Big Banks. They are now looking to the Senate to pass meaningful reform to ensure that this cannot happen again. As the bill moves to the floor, AFR and our 250 coalition partners, will be working night and day to ensure this bill is strengthened, not weakened.
“We have already seen some in the Senate who, on the behalf of the Big Banks, want to make this bill so weak that it would do nothing other than score cheap political points. The alternative presented by Republicans the other night is a prime example of this. The Republican alternative would do nothing but create loopholes for the Big Banks to continue playing in a casino economy, and betting with taxpayers’ hard-earned money. Their plan will give consumer protection to the very regulators who got us into this mess, create loopholes that leave us open to risky bets and water down the rules we need to keep the biggest banks from gambling with our money, paying giant bonuses and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill when the game goes bad.”
“The American public cannot afford to get the raw end of yet another bad bank deal. The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 starts to move us in the right direction. As the bill moves through the Senate, it needs to be strengthened not weakened. It has now been eighteen months since the Big Banks took our economy over a cliff. It is time for the Senate to end the casino economy, reform Wall Street, protect consumers and help stabilize our economy.”
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