[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H3315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           WALL STREET REFORM

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Wall Street reform 
and ask, Which side are you on? In my opinion, the debate on Wall 
Street reform is straightforward. There are those who support 
hardworking American families and small businesses against those who 
wish to protect the status quo and big Wall Street banks which are to 
blame for the current recession.
  For example, last year this House passed the Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act. None--that's right, zero--of my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle supported that bill. The other side can no 
longer ignore American families who have worked hard and played by the 
rules, only to see their homes foreclosed on, their retirement savings 
lost, their business destroyed, or their jobs wiped out.
  We need commonsense reforms and stronger consumer protections to 
ensure that a crisis on this order of magnitude never happens again. It 
is time we streamlined government and put a cop on the beat of Wall 
Street to protect American families and businesses. Absent this cop, 
Wall Street will regulate itself as it did under the previous 
administration. The American economy cannot afford to live through 
real-life tragedy again and neither can her families.

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