Financial Reform

Floor Speech

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I could not resist coming to you and speaking to you about my experience when we passed the financial reform bill last Friday.

You know, Wall Street has provided an unparalleled life-style for Americans. The speculation and the brilliance and genius of futures and credit default swaps and derivatives have provided us with a life-style where every bride can have a diamond ring and every handsome groom can have a gold band. We can have two cars, one a gas-guzzling SUV, lobster dinners, McMansions, Madam Speaker, with six bedrooms, five fireplaces, 4 1/2 baths but, of course, not enough closet space for all the shoes and designer clothes that we have.

Last fall, all of this balloon spending came to a crash. And it was amazing to me, Madam Speaker, that when we tried to rein in Wall Street and some of the speculation, that there was tremendous resistance from both parties with developing a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, putting together an assessment from all of these ``too big to fail'' companies to pay for an orderly dissolution of the mess that they created. I can tell you, Madam Speaker, it was amazing to me.

This bill that we passed, for those who have asked the question, what is government for, this bill demonstrates better than anything that I have seen what the purpose of government is, and that is to regulate unfettered greed and avarice that can bring our country and, indeed, the world to financial brink.

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