Written by Matt Murray for the NH Labor News
The Wall Street gamblers are up to their underhanded tricks once again, and they are using their Congressional puppets to do their bidding. Tonight Republican lawmakers tried to roll back provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act regarding derivative trading.
"The provision that's about to be repealed requires banks to keep separate a key part of their risky Wall Street speculation so that there's no government insurance for that part of their business," Senator Elizabeth Warren stated on the floor of the Senate. "We all need to stand and fight this giveaway to the most powerful banks in the country."
Wall Street Gamblers used taxpayer insured derivatives to nearly break our economy and sent us into the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.
“This giveaway to Wall Street would open the door to future bailouts funded by American taxpayers,” said Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. “It has been just six years since risky financial practices put our economy on the brink of collapse. This provision, originally written by lobbyists, has no place in a must-pass spending bill.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement:
At the request of too-big-to-fail banks, the Republican leadership is trying to sneak a provision into a last-minute deal to fund the government that will make it easier for too-big-to-fail banks to put taxpayers on the hook for their risky speculation in toxic derivatives.
We call on members of Congress of both parties who are opposed to too-big-to-fail to stand up to Wall Street and to this harmful roll-back of a critical anti-bailout provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Dodd-Frank forced too-big-to-fail banks to move potentially toxic speculation in derivatives out of their government-insured banks. Wall Street’s friends in Congress are trying to once again put the public on the hook for the most dangerous aspects of the financial system.
Working people were profoundly harmed by the 2008 financial crisis and its continuing aftermath of mass unemployment, falling wages, the mass eviction of working people from their homes, and reduced public investment. Derivatives were at the center of the crisis – turning a painful decline in home prices into an international financial crisis that still plagues our economy.
The AFL-CIO strongly opposes efforts to make it easier for too-big-to-fail banks to use taxpayer-backed funds to make risky bets in the derivatives markets.
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers vehemently opposed rolling back Wall Street reforms.
"It’s unconscionable that Republicans would take a bill to keep the government open and sneak into it a provision that enables Wall Street to do the same kind of gambling that crashed our economy, required billions in taxpayer bailouts and devastated working people," said Weingarten. "Why would anyone, instead of helping the middle class with policies that will promote shared prosperity, continue to aid and abet the rich and powerful banks with giveaways that crashed the financial system less than a decade ago? Working people are counting on Congress to do the right thing and reject this gift to Wall Street."
As you have already heard, the spending bill -- including the Wall Street roll-backs -- passed the House and is now in the Senate. If they do not pass it by midnight tonight the government will run out of funding and be forced into yet another shutdown.
Will the Senate strike the provision and send the bill back to the House? Will the Senate pass the spending bill with the Wall Street roll-backs? If the Senate passes the bill will the President veto bill knowing that it could lead to another government shutdown?
By 1 am on Friday morning all of my questions will be answered.
Below is Elizabeth Warren's entire speech to the Senate floor, it is worth your time.