[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9256-9257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            FINANCIAL REFORM

  (Mr. OLVER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, as financial reform takes shape, we must ask:

[[Page 9257]]

Do Wall Street banks serve America or themselves? In these last years, 
we've seen the answer, and it is no surprise. Wall Street serves Wall 
Street. It could care less about the lives they ruin while seeking 
profits and bonuses.
  The Bush administration allowed Wall Street banks to chase profit by 
building their growth on a weak foundation of risky debt. Their scheme 
collapsed. They held America's savings hostage. Congress could not 
afford to let them fail, so they couldn't lose. Of course, they didn't. 
America lost.
  The International Monetary Fund estimates these gambles have 
destroyed nearly $3 trillion of economic value. Recently, economists 
have estimated the entire cost of World War II to be, roughly, the 
same. In other words, Wall Street banks devised a way to make billions 
in profits and bonuses while wiping out the savings of millions of 
Americans.
  They cannot be allowed to do that again. The final bill must end 
their gambling and protect our savings.

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