[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 30783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              REFORMING WALL STREET TO PROTECT MAIN STREET

  (Mrs. DAHLKEMPER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Mr. Speaker, last year we witnessed the near 
collapse of our financial system. According to one estimate, the United 
States lost an estimated $8.3 trillion of wealth in 2008. Right now, 
more than 15 million Americans are unemployed and looking for work. 
Families and businesses continue to struggle as our economy slowly 
recovers. We must ensure that this never happens again.
  Hardworking Americans on Main Street have been the victim of Wall 
Street's excess and greed and also of Washington's failure to hold 
investors accountable. Our constituents, the American people, deserve 
better. The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 will 
rein in risky behavior on Wall Street and create powerful protections 
for middle class families.
  I urge my colleagues to stand up for middle class families and 
protect their financial future by supporting H.R. 4173.

                          ____________________