Reed, Merkley Join Wall Street Reform Advocate in Calling on More Republicans to Support Accountability for Big Banks

Washington, DC—Senators Jack Reed and Jeff Merkley joined Heather Booth of Americans for Financial Reform on a conference call this afternoon to call on more Republicans to stand up for middle-class families and support final passage of Wall Street accountability legislation. A few brave Republicans will join Senate Democrats later this week to pass this historic reform that will protect Main Street from reckless behavior on Wall Street. 

“We are steadily moving toward the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster of Wall Street reform and advance tough new restrictions on the financial institutions that dragged our economy into this recession.  Holding  Wall Street accountable will help lead us toward a stronger, more stable economy with new safety measures that will help prevent future systemic failures,” said Senator Reed.  “It will help consumers and small business owners keep more of their hard earned money.  And it clearly states that taxpayers will not be on the hook to save a failing financial company or cover the cost of liquidation.”

“For far too long, our financial system has put the interests of the big banks on Wall Street ahead of working families on Main Street,” said Senator Merkley.  “We finally have an opportunity before us to set things right and bring accountability to Wall Street.  I urge my colleagues across the aisle to join us and pass real financial reform that will create a stronger foundation for the success of our small business owners and working families.”  

“Even as we are close to the finish line, there are still many opponents looking block progress. They are choosing to stand with the big bank lobbyists and not the 8 million Americans who lost their jobs and even more who lost their retirement savings,” said Heather Booth of Americans for Financial Reform. “We’re calling on all Senators, from both sides of the aisle, to defend Americans’ wallets and tell Wall Street they can’t gamble with our money, they can’t take advantage of consumers for sport or to hide risky investments in the shadows.  Our economy cannot wait for another economic cliff.”