(Washington, D.C.) –
Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) voted for the Wall Street Reform
legislation that will protect Washington state families, hold Wall Street
accountable, and
guarantee that Washington state taxpayers will never again be on the hook to
bail out Wall Street or clean up after big banks’ messes. The legislation
passed today by a vote of 60-39 and is expected to be signed into law by
President Obama shortly.
“With this vote today,
the era of taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts is officially over,” said Senator Patty Murray. “This bill is
going to make sure that Washington state families and small business owners are
protected from predatory Wall Street tactics. And it will guarantee that American
taxpayers will never again be on the hook to bail out the big banks. I was
proud to stand up for my state’s families today and against the Wall Street
lobbyists and special interests who were fighting so hard to protect big banks
and maintain the status quo.”
“Wall Street reform
legislation makes a big distinction between Wall Street Mega Banks and Main
Street Community Banks. Within the legislation there are positives for Main
Street Community banks including asset-based deposit insurance assessments,
regulating non-bank financial competitors, deposit insurance limits increased
and extending the deposit insurance coverage on noninterest-bearing transaction
accounts and ending too big to fail. These enhancements and others will aid
community banks in Washington State to continue to support the communities they
serve through small business loans and financial services,” said John
Collins President of the Community Bankers of Washington state, Washington’s
leading association of Community Banks. “By ending ‘too big to fail’ and
ensuring that large banks pay for the risks they create to the system this bill
takes monumental steps to protect community banks our customers and taxpayers.
The Community Bankers of Washington want to particularly commend Senator Murray
for the leadership she provided in fighting for provisions that help support
community banks and for ensuring that Wall Street’s megabanks pay their fair
share for the risks they pose.”
See
a FULL SUMMARY of the Wall Street Reform legislation that passed the Senate
today
Murray spoke
on the Senate floor yesterday to explain her support and highlight exactly
how this bill will help Washington state families and small business
owners. Murray told the stories of three Washington state residents who
suffered due to Wall Street greed and irresponsibility—and spoke about what
this bill will do to help them and people like them across the state. Murray
also highlighted the contrast between those who are standing up for Washington
state families and supporting Wall Street Reform, and those who are standing up
for Wall Street, big banks, and special interests and trying to water down or
kill reform.
The
full text of Senator Murray’s 7/14 speech follows:
“Mr. President, I have been fighting hard for a Wall Street reform
bill that protects my state’s families, holds Wall Street accountable,
and includes a guarantee that American taxpayers will never again have
to pay to bail out Wall Street or clean up after big banks’ messes.
“And
I am proud to say that finally, after months of hard work, we are so
close to passing legislation that does exactly this.
“Mr.
President—this should not be a partisan issue. It shouldn’t be about
right versus left or Democrats versus Republicans.
“It should be
about doing what’s right for families and small business owners in my
home state of Washington and across the country.
“It should be
about who it is we choose to stand up for—who we think needs our support
right now.
“Some people have spent the last few months standing
up for Wall Street and big banks: Trying to water down this reform, and
fighting every day against any changes that would prevent the big banks
from going back to their ‘bonus-as-usual’ mentality.
“But I
have been proud to stand with so many others to fight against the Wall
Street lobbyists and special interest groups, and for the families I
represent in Washington state.
“Families who want us to pass
strong reforms that can’t be ignored or sidestepped.
“Who want
us to end bailouts and make sure Wall Street is held accountable for
cleaning up their own messes.
“And who want us to put in place
strong consumer protections to make sure big banks can never again take
advantage of our families, students, or seniors.
“Because Mr.
President, for most American families this debate isn’t complex—it’s
simple.
“It’s not about derivatives or credit default swaps.
“It’s
about fundamental fairness. And it’s about making sure we have good,
common-sense rules that work for our families and small business owners.
“It’s about the person who walks into a bank to sign up for a
mortgage, or applies for a credit card, or starts planning their
retirement—are the rules on their side, or are they with the big banks
on Wall Street?
“Because, Mr. President—for far too long the
financial rules of the road have not favored the American people.
“Instead,
they’ve favored: Big banks, credit card companies, and Wall Street. And
for far too long they’ve abused those rules.
“So Mr. President,
as we approach this vote, I think it is important for all of us to be
clear about who it is we are fighting for.
“I am fighting for
people like Devin Glaser, a school aide in Seattle who told me he had
worked, saved money, and bought a condo before the recession began.
“He
told me he put 20% down on a traditional mortgage and was making his
payments.
“However, like so many others who have found themselves
underemployed as a result of this recession, Devin has been unable to
find more than 25 hours of work a week.
“He is now unable to pay
his mortgage and is waiting to be foreclosed on any day now.
“I
am fighting for people like Rob Hays, a Washington state student whose
parents have put retirement on hold and gone back to work in order to
send him to school.
“Just a few short years ago Rob’s parents
were in the process of selling their home and preparing to retire. But
then the foreclosure crisis took hold and they could no longer find a
buyer.
“As a result they were forced to pay two mortgages with
the money they had saved for Rob’s school—and retirement has been put on
hold.
“And I am fighting for people like Jude LaRene, a small
business owner in Washington state who told me that when the financial
crisis hit his line of credit was pulled.
“This forced him to lay
off employees, go deep into debt on personal credit cards, and cut back
on inventory.
“Despite the fact that his toy stores were more
popular than ever!
“President, I am fighting for people like
Devin, Rob, and Jude because they are the ones being forced to pay the
price for Wall Street’s greed and irresponsibility.
“Whether it
was gambling with borrowed money from our pension funds, making bets
they could never cover, or peddling mortgages to people they knew could
never pay— Wall Street made reckless choices that have devastated so
many working families.
“In my home state of Washington, Wall
Street’s mistakes cost us over 150,000 jobs.
“They cost the
average family thousands of dollars in lost income.
“They cost
small businesses the access to credit they need to expand and hire—and
in many cases, caused them to close.
“They cost workers the
retirement accounts they were counting on to carry them through their
golden years. And students the college saving that would help launch
their careers.
They cost homeowners the value of their most
important financial asset as neighborhoods have been decimated by
foreclosures.
“They cost our schoolteachers, our police
officers, and our communities. And they cost workers like Devin,
students like Rob, and small business owners like Jude.
“Mr.
President, we owe it to people like them across the country to reform
this system that puts Wall Street before Main Street.
“We owe it
to them to put families back in control of their finances.
“We
owe it to them to make sure the rules protect families sitting around
the dinner table balancing their checkbooks and finding ways to save for
the future—not those sitting around the boardroom table finding ways to
increase profits at the expense of hard working Americans.
“And
to do that, we need to pass this strong Wall Street reform legislation.
“Mr.
President, it is important for families to understand what this bill
does—and what exactly opponents of this legislation are fighting
against.
“This bill contains explicit language guaranteeing that
taxpayers will never again be responsible for bailing out Wall Street.
“It
creates a brand new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will
protect consumers from big-bank rip-offs, end unfair fees, curb
out-of-control credit card and mortgage rates, and be a new ‘cop on the
beat’ to safeguard consumers and protect families.
“It puts in
place new protections for small businesses from unfair transaction fees
imposed by credit card companies.
“It enforces limitations on
excessive compensation for Wall Street executives.
“And it offers
new tools to promote financial literacy and make sure families have the
knowledge to protect themselves and take personal responsibility for
their finances.
“I’ve heard so many stories from people across
Washington state who have scrimped and saved, who made the best with
what they had, but were still devastated through no fault of their own.
“People
who played by the rules but who are now paying the price for those on
Wall Street who didn’t.
“These are the people we need to stand
up for—the people whose Main Street values I fight for every day.
“So
Mr. President, with all of the new protections and reforms that this
bill contains for families and small businesses—I have to ask—Who are
the opponents of this bill fighting for? Who are they standing up to
protect?
“You know, I grew up working at my Dad’s five and dime
store on Main Street in Bothell, Washington. And like so many people
across our country, Main Street is where I got my values.
“I was
taught that the product of your work wasn’t just about the dollars in
the till at the end of the day.
“I learned that a good
transaction was one that was good for your business AND the customer.
“That
strong customer service and lasting relationships often made your
business stronger.
“That personal responsibility meant owning up
to your mistakes and making them right.
“And that one business
relied on the others on the same street.
“I was taught that
customers were not prey and businesses were not predators. And that an
honest business was a successful one.
“Mr. President, it’s time
for us to bring those Main Street values back to our financial system.
“To
bring back an approach that puts Main Street and families over Wall
Street and profits.
“That protects consumers, holds big banks
accountable for their actions, and makes sure people like Devin, Rob,
and Jude are never again forced to bear the burden for the big banks’
mistakes.
“So I urge my colleagues to stand with me against the
status quo, and for this strong Wall Street Reform bill that families
and small businesses in Washington state and across the country
desperately need.
“Thank you—I yield the floor.”
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