FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 8, 2011

CONTACT: John Carey at 202-466-1854
john@ourfinancialsecurity.org          

AFR Statement on President’s Speech to Joint Session of Congress

Washington, DC – Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working together for strong Wall Street reform, issued the following statement today:

Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform:

“We applaud President Obama for focusing on measures to create jobs, and address the terrible problem of unemployment facing American families and communities.

Wall Street’s recklessness and greed – enabled by the deregulation financial industry special interests lobbied for – were a fundamental cause of our economic crisis.  They cost Americans millions of jobs, along with billions in taxpayer-funded bailouts, and trillions of dollars in pension funds, home values, and retirement savings.

In order to stabilize the economy and create jobs we need to establish and police fair rules of the road for financial markets so that we never face another similar crisis.  Abusive and fraudulent mortgage loans have devastated families, neighborhoods, and our whole economy. So it is particularly troubling that Republican leaders in the Senate this week renewed their pledge to refuse to implement the consumer protection law passed last year as part of the Dodd Frank legislation by refusing to even consider a nominee to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  This may work well for Wall Street banks, and financial industry special interests, but it leaves the public at risk. As families navigate hard times, it is especially important to prevent financial tricks and traps that leave them poorer.

The unresolved housing crisis – including the millions of families facing foreclosure, and the millions who owe much more than their homes are worth – remain another persistent drag on the economy.  We support ways to make it easier for families to refinance, but we continue to believe that much more needs to be done. The country needs large-scale mortgage modifications, including deep principal reductions, to resolve the problem, and to help spur consumer demand.

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