[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 5944]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                              WALL STREET

  (Mr. ARCURI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I understand that one of the biggest issues 
facing American families today is the cost of living and our economic 
future.
  I'm disappointed that the health of our Nation's financial 
institutions has come into question as a result of unscrupulous lending 
and mortgage practices, preceded by years of inadequate regulation of 
the financial services industry. Republicans and Democrats alike, for 
too long, have failed to hold unscrupulous financial institutions 
accountable, and hardworking families across the country are paying the 
price.
  At the same time, I know that many local banks have not engaged in 
the risky and irresponsible lending practices that led to the economic 
meltdown that we saw last year. The House-passed reform bill is about 
cleaning up that irresponsibility and protecting consumers, not about 
burdening local banks that play by the rules.
  I have witnessed firsthand the valuable impacts that small- and 
medium-sized community banks make on the daily lives of New York's 
families, helping them buy their first home, finance their small 
business, and send their children to college. In these tough economic 
times, it is critical that Congress hold financial institutions to a 
higher standard while allowing local banks to continue to be able to 
invest in their communities.

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