Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, another day, another attempt to weaken the Dodd-Frank Act. Just 5 years ago, the financial industry required a $700 billion taxpayer bailout and nearly destroyed our economy. We learned in the aftermath that risky derivative products, like swaps, were a major factor contributing to the crisis. As a result, Congress passed common sense reforms to prevent American taxpayers from once again being on the hook for trading losses by the country's largest banks. One of these new reforms was embodied in section 716, known as the ``swaps push out rule.'' Banks can no longer use federally-insured deposits to recklessly gamble in the most exotic types of derivatives.

Unfortunately, H.R. 992 would roll back these reforms and simply restore the status quo for Wall Street. This is ill advised and wrong for American taxpayers. If we need proof that swaps push out is necessary, look no further than last year's ``London Whale'' incident which cost JP Morgan $6 billion and could have been much worse.

I ask my colleagues to oppose H.R. 992.

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