Kagen Votes to Clean Up Wall Street, Put Consumers First

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

June 30, 2010

KAGEN VOTES TO CLEAN UP WALL STREET, PUT CONSUMERS FIRST

Historic legislation ends ‘Too Big to Fail’, protects families of Northeast Wisconsin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Steve Kagen stood up to Wall Street – again.  He voted to end bank bailouts; ban bad loans to those who are unqualified to receive them; make certain banks pay for their own mistakes – not taxpayers; and place the Federal Reserve under greater control.

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will end the era of abuses by “too big to fail” banks that have cost the American people 8 million jobs and $17 trillion in household wealth.

"Today we made history by finally beginning to restore financial responsibility to Wall Street,” said Dr. Kagen.  “There will be no more bank bailouts; no more bad loans; no more asking taxpayers pay for mistakes by Wall Street speculators; and we are bringing the Federal Reserve under better control.”

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will help prevent the risky financial practices that led to the financial meltdown and stop large financial firms from gambling with Americans’ retirement and college savings and home values. In addition, taxpayers will no longer pay the price for Wall Street’s irresponsibility.  The bill creates a process to shut down large, failing firms whose collapse would put the entire economy at risk.  After exhausting all of the company’s assets, additional costs would be covered by a “dissolution fund,” to which all large financial firms would contribute.

"I worked hard and took bold actions necessary to secure the biggest advance in consumer protections in our country’s history,” declared Kagen.  “Tonight, we put a cop back on the beat."

The bill will create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new consumer watchdog devoted to protecting Americans from unfair and abusive financial practices.  This independent bureau will provide clear and accurate information to families and small businesses to ensure that bank loans, mortgages, and credit cards are fair and affordable.  Just like the FDA does for medical safety, the CFPB will set safety standards to prevent practices such as hidden credit card fees, deceptive “fine print,” and other financial abuses that have escaped oversight so far.

"We fell into this economic mess through lax oversight, ineffective regulations of our financial markets and unbridled activities of speculators on Wall Street.  This bill is a positive step towards preventing future market meltdowns."

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