Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Day 2 of Wyoming Repub Senators siding with their Wall Street Overlords

From a WyoDems press release:

Yesterday and today, Senate Republicans voted to block critical Wall Street reforms. In response, Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen issued the following statement:

“Yesterday and today, Senators Barrasso and Enzi and the Republican Party voted to block Wall Street reforms that will protect American taxpayers by holding Wall Street accountable. President Obama and Senate Democrats are working hard to pass this critical legislation that will restrict Wall Street’s risky practices and protects consumers. This is disappointing, but it’s no surprise. Once again the Republican Party is playing the role of obstructionist to meaningful change.

“For too long, lax regulations and free-wheeling Wall Street practices fattened bankers’ wallets. And when their house of cards fell apart, American taxpayers were stuck with the fallout. More than 8 million Americans lost their jobs, and American families lost trillions of dollars in savings and assets. It’s time for Republicans to stop playing political games, join Democrats, and pass this critical Wall Street reform that will bring an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts, protect consumers, and help rein in Wall Street’s risky practices”

Specifically, the reform plan before Congress would:

Ensure that Americans have the information they need to make the right financial choices for their families by putting an end to unfair and abusive lending policies and requiring banks and credit card companies to provide clear and complete information about their products.

Hold Wall Street accountable by giving shareholders and investors greater control over company decisions, like the choice of company leaders or the amount of bonuses to be awarded.

Introduce new transparency by requiring that complicated financial transactions occur out in the open – steps that will help to prevent future economic disasters.

Close the legal loopholes that allowed big banks to take big risks – endangering not only their own companies, but also the whole American economy.

Enforce tough new rules that will make sure Wall Street banks pay for their own bad decisions and take taxpayers off the hook for expensive bailouts for institutions some say are ‘too big to fail’.

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