Van Hollen Hails Passage Of The Wall Street Reform Act

Statement

Van Hollen Hails Passage Of The Wall Street Reform Act

Today, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) issued the following statement on House passage of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009:

"I'm proud to have joined my colleagues in passing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, and I support the comprehensive approach it takes to reining in systemic risk, curbing excessive speculation, and restoring transparency, accountability, and oversight to our financial system.

"In the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Democratic majority has launched a series of deliberate and wide-ranging initiatives to stem that crisis -- and those initiatives are clearly working. Our economy is no longer in free fall. Markets are sharply up. Foreclosures are starting to come down. The vicious spiral of job destruction we inherited from the past Administration is now slowing.

"We know we are headed in the right direction -- but we also know there is more work to do. We will not stop until our economy has fully recovered, there is a good-paying job for every American who wants one, and we have launched a new era of broadly shared American prosperity.

"This legislation represents the next step on our nation's road back to recovery. To make sure we never have another AIG, this bill establishes a Financial Stability Council charged with the exclusive mission of identifying and regulating systemic risk. In the future, a Systemic Dissolution Fund will be able to safely wind down failing firms so that taxpayers aren't left holding the bag. To protect consumers, today's legislation creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to police our markets for abusive financial products and services. We are bringing transparency and oversight to our derivatives markets. Investors will get a better shake, credit rating agencies will face reforms, and shareholders will get a "say on pay'."

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