Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am here tonight to join my colleagues because, like them, I am deeply disappointed that 41 Republican Senators tonight voted to stop us from even beginning to debate on legislation to rein in the reckless and risky Wall Street conduct that brought this economy to its knees. Rather than make the case out in the open on the floor of the Senate for the changes they want to the Wall Street reform bill, these 41 Senators who voted to block debate are, instead, saying they want changes worked out behind closed doors. They are actually saying they will prevent debate and hold this Wall Street reform bill hostage until they are accommodated behind closed doors.

We heard Senator Kaufman say there are amendments he wants to the bill. There are amendments I wish to see in the bill. For example, I think we need to strengthen the provisions in the bill to prevent financial institutions that are supposed to be helping American companies finance their growth plans--that are supposed to be helping families save for their retirement, that are supposed to be helping families save for their kids' college education--to prevent those institutions from making risky side bets for their own profit. But rather than block the Senate from taking up the Wall Street reform until I get what I want, I intend to cosponsor the amendment the Presiding Officer and Senator Levin are sponsoring and then debate that issue openly on the floor of the Senate.

Our amendment prohibits federally insured banks from engaging in proprietary trading and it imposes strict capital charges on large nonbank financial institutions to limit their proprietary trading.

We have all learned in recent days about the proprietary trading that Goldman Sachs was doing, betting their own money that mortgage-backed securities would fail, while getting their clients to invest in those same mortgage-backed securities. I am sure there are a lot of people who think, as I do, that a system that allows that kind of conflict does not make sense and we need to change it. So I think we need to get this bill on the floor so we can debate this issue and so many others that we need to address to change the practices on Wall Street.

We need to enact a strong Wall Street reform bill as soon as possible. While we delay, the big banks on Wall Street have returned to the same types of reckless and risky gambles that brought our economy to the brink of a complete financial meltdown. My grandmother used to say that while the cat's away, the mice will play. Today I think my grandmother would say while Wall Street reform is delayed, middle-class families are being played.

Let's be clear. A vote against opening debate on holding Wall Street accountable is a vote to protect Wall Street. We are still suffering the consequences of unregulated Wall Street greed. Millions of hard-working Americans lost their jobs through no fault of their own and they still can't find work. Too many small businesses still can't get credit. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the recent financial crisis never happens again, that taxpayers never again have to bail out Wall Street bankers for their bad bets. I hope all those Senators who tonight voted to block us from taking up Wall Street reform will reconsider that vote and that they will come to the floor of the Senate and let us do the work of the people of this country.

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