[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MAIN STREET NEEDS HELP

  (Ms. SUTTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, last fall, at the end of the last 
administration, we all know that America's largest financial 
institutions and companies were on the brink of collapse, and the 
Federal Government, and more importantly, the American taxpayers came 
to their rescue. But let's be clear: We did not do that because we were 
fans of their behavior. We did not appreciate even then the excessive 
greed that was driving Wall Street without any sense of responsibility. 
We helped them because ordinary citizens were being crushed, and we 
hoped to get the credit flowing.
  So what has happened? Wall Street has experienced recovery, but Main 
Street still needs help. Wall Street needs to help pay for the 
revitalization of Main Street, and that is why I support the Wall 
Street Bonus Tax, which is going to levy a tax on those excessive 
bonuses that the Wall Street banks have the audacity to continue to 
give out even as the plight of our middle class is suffering.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to do everything we can to stand up for the 
American taxpayers and the people who live in our communities.

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