Van Hollen Applauds Signing of Historic Wall Street Reform Bill

Statement

Today, Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Assistant to the Speaker, issued the following statement on President Obama signing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law:

"Today President Obama has signed into law historic Wall Street reform. Never again will American taxpayers be asked to pay for the risky behavior of big banks and hedge funds. Never again will millions of Americans lose their jobs and millions of families face personal economic crises because of reckless conduct on Wall Street. And never again will we allow our economy to be held hostage to bad decisions in the financial sector.

"We have spent the last two years battling the worst economic crisis in a generation. We have made progress, but millions of families are still suffering. This legislation will provide important consumer protections to American families and empower them to make the best decisions for their financial futures. It reins in big banks and their big bonuses and ensures Main Street is never again left on the hook for the bad choices made on Wall Street.

"While President Obama and Congressional Democrats have worked to protect consumers with common sense reforms, Washington Republicans fought us every step of the way. When faced with the question of standing with big banks or protecting American workers and small businesses, GOP leaders stood arm and arm with powerful special interests and lobbyists to try to defeat this legislation. In fact, the Republican Leader has already called for repeal of the reform and another top GOP leader said Republicans want "to go back to the exact same agenda' that caused economy to sink into a great recession. In holding Wall Street accountable and signing this bill into law, today truly represents a victory for the American taxpayer and the American consumer."

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