[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WALL STREET REFORM PACKAGE

  (Mr. WALZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, among the speakers who have just addressed 
this House are a high school teacher, a nurse, a social worker, a small 
business owner, and a criminal prosecutor. And they stood hand in hand 
for working families on Main Street to restore responsibility and 
accountability to Wall Street last week.
  After years of recklessness and unchecked greed that have now cost 
millions their jobs, their homes, and their life savings, we finally 
passed long-overdue commonsense reforms. These reforms protect 
investors and consumers from the excesses of those who will gamble 
other people's hard-earned money and closed loopholes in existing laws. 
They bring about an end to taxpayer bailouts and a belief that a firm 
is too big to fail.
  Financial markets work best when they are transparent, allowing 
investors to make smart decisions and our capital system to flourish; 
but they also require cops on the beat to protect consumers from fraud 
and abuse. The Wall Street reform package we passed strengthens our 
markets and our economies, giving people confidence again to invest in 
America and our growth towards prosperity.

                          ____________________