Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act

Floor Speech

Madam Speaker, today when this House passes the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, it will take a huge step to the protection of the American citizen, the American taxpayer, and American business. Never again will Wall Street take massive risks with the expectation that they will be bailed out when they fail. Never again will mortgage brokers sell mortgages that they know can't possibly be repaid. Never again will the credit card companies make billions from sowing confusion amongst American consumers.

I have been struck in this debate by how closely what we are doing today mirrors what happened in the 1930s when this Congress created a regulatory structure. The opposition said this would be the end of capitalism, the end of markets. And instead, that reform led to 60 or 70 years of the most intense prosperity the human race has ever seen. Word for word, those charges have been repeated.

They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. What this House does today will be a tremendous step forward for the American people and the American economy.

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