[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6210-6211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last week, I criticized the Republican 
leader for the way he was handling Wall Street reform. I even 
criticized him for a series of meetings he held in New York and the 
result of the meetings. I want the record to be very clear, however, 
that I in no way was impugning the integrity of my friend from 
Kentucky.
  The senior Senator from Kentucky and I have fundamental policy 
differences on a number of issues, but no one should take my 
disagreement with my friend to question his honesty.
  Wall Street reform is as complex as the financial instruments that 
fueled a worldwide recession. But voting to start on the Wall Street 
reform is as simple as right and wrong. This bill and the debate are 
about the ability to trust our financial system again. They are about 
giving families the peace of mind that they will be able to keep their 
homes, that their savings will be safe.
  We have a responsibility to bring accountability to Wall Street 
because each of us is accountable to the American people. We owe our 
States' constituents and our Nation's taxpayers the promise that they 
will never again have to endure a financial crisis such as the last 
one.
  Today, the vote to begin debate on Wall Street accountability will 
answer many questions. It will reveal who believes we need to 
strengthen oversight on Wall Street and who does not. It will 
demonstrate who believes we need to strengthen the protections of 
consumers and who does not.
  In light of the extraordinary effort we have seen from the Republican 
leadership, it will force each Senator to publicly proclaim whether 
party unity is more important than economic security. I know many on 
the other side would like to pretend that is not what is at stake. But 
we are not fooled and neither are the American people, two-thirds of 
whom we learned today support cracking down on Wall Street.
  This past weekend I was in four different counties in Nevada. I heard 
the same thing everywhere I went, from everyone with whom I spoke. They 
said: Get this done. So many Nevadans are suffering because of the mess 
Wall Street created, and they know better than anyone that we have to 
fix it. Democrats agree.
  That is why we stand for guaranteeing taxpayers that they will never 
again be asked to bail out big banks and that no Wall Street firm can 
become too big to fail.
  Democrats stand for giving families more control over their own 
finances and for giving consumers more clarity so they can make the 
right financial decisions.
  Democrats stand for protecting the life savings of hard-working 
Americans from Wall Street's gambling. We stand for making our 
financial system more transparent so we can rein in risky bets before 
it is too late.
  In short, Democrats stand for bringing more accountability and 
transparency to Wall Street. As far as I can tell, the only thing 
Republicans stand for is standing together. They boasted about banding 
together at this time at all costs, even at the cost to our national 
economy. But a party that stands with Wall Street is a party that 
stands against families and against fairness. Among the many reasons we 
need to reform Wall Street is that those who work there have conspired 
for too long under the cover of darkness. They have acted recklessly 
because they know they will not be held accountable for their risks.
  They do not think twice about using working families as pawns in a 
get-rich-quick scheme. I would direct everyone to read the best seller, 
``The Big Short,'' by Michael Lewis. It is stunning in describing what 
they do with our money on Wall Street.
  When you come to Nevada to gamble at one of the casinos, you are at 
least gambling with your own money. The people on Wall Street are 
gambling with our money. We know Wall Street does not like this bill. 
Of course it does not. It changes the system big bankers and hedge fund 
managers have taken advantage of for years.

[[Page 6211]]

  Look at the rules of the road on Wall Street. Traders get to gamble 
away someone else's money with little risk and large reward. They get 
to take home their winnings and ask taxpayers to save them from their 
losses. That is how the system worked when they brought our economy to 
the brink of collapse.
  Sadly, today the problem is it is still the way the system works. 
That is what we are going to correct with this legislation, a bill that 
is the product of months of bipartisan discussions, a bill that 
embraces Republican ideas and Democratic ideas.
  This afternoon's vote is a vote merely to begin debate; it is not the 
end of the process, just the beginning. All we are asking is to be able 
to start debating. My Republican colleagues certainly do not hesitate 
debating this bill in press conferences or in interviews. So why would 
Senators object to debating it on the floor itself, the Senate floor?
  Moving to this bill will move this issue from the sidelines to the 
playing field. It will bring these proposals onto the Senate floor so 
we can amend them, improve them, and act upon them. It will ensure this 
debate is part of the legislative process, broadcast live on television 
so every American around the country can watch and weigh it. Let's have 
that debate.
  There is one more reason we need to reform how this financial system 
works. For far too long, too many on Wall Street have bet on failure--
yes, on failure. They have made billions betting on the housing market 
collapsing or other failures in the economic system.
  We will see this afternoon whether enough Republicans on Capitol Hill 
are determined to bet on failure also. I hope not.

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