Pat Meehan's Record: Serving Wall Street, Not Main Street

Press Release

Representative Bryan Lentz released the following statement after the U.S. Senate recently passed legislation to reform the way Wall Street works. Despite nearly all Senate Republicans voting against the reform bill, it has passed both houses and now needs only a final conference version to be voted on and sent to the President to become law. Pat Meehan won't tell the voters if he supports comprehensive Wall Street reform, but his record over the last 30 years as a career politician of protecting big banks and financial firms over everyday Americans speaks for itself.

In 2002, Meehan was appointed by President George W. Bush to be a part of a team charged exclusively with the investigation of corporate financial crimes, including securities fraud, accounting fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, tax fraud and other related crimes by companies, their officers, directors, professional advisors and employees. Six years later, our economy collapsed and it was clear just how many corporate financial crimes had been going on right under Meehan's nose without prosecution. He failed to protect the American people then, and he won't stand up for them now by going against his party bosses and supporting better regulation of risky and predatory Wall Street practices.

"Appointed by George W. Bush as a favor to Arlen Specter, Pat Meehan played a central role in the government's failure to oversee Wall Street -- leading directly to the financial collapse--and there is every reason to believe that this failure to protect the taxpayers as a prosecutor will be continued if Meehan is allowed to go to Washington to continue fighting for Wall Street.

"For more than a decade, Congressional Republicans, many of whom have already provided significant financial and political support to Pat Meehan, looked the other way as Wall Street ran wild. This failure to protect the American taxpayers crippled our financial system and resulted in 8 million jobs lost for America's workers.

"Over 40% of Pat Meehan's first quarter fundraising total came from Political Action Committees including significant money from his former boss Rick Santorum and $10,000 from Republican leader in the House John Boehner, both of whom oppose Wall St. reform. A career politician like Meehan, Boehner has received $3.4 million* from the financial services industry alone.

The Senate overcame Republican attempts to block the vote on this legislation, which would require tough accountability and transparency for big banks and for Wall Street. All but a few Republicans voted against the reform bill, but the legislation passed without their help, bringing reform one step closer to realization.

"While Congressional Republicans and their hand-picked candidates like Meehan protect special interests and big banks, I will keep fighting to protect consumers and small businesses. That is why I have already released a comprehensive plan for Jobs and the Economy, and that is why my plan includes the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency."

"In Congress, I will be committed to reining in the excesses of Wall Street and standing with America's middle-class working families. I will support the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which ends taxpayer-funded bailouts, unwinds so-called "too big to fail' firms, requires that consumers get the information they need to make smart decisions, reforms executive pay, and holds the big banks and Wall Street accountable to American taxpayers.

"Pat Meehan has already failed the taxpayers as a prosecutor and failed to stand up to the local GOP bosses in both the Civera scandal and in his own fraudulent petition scandal. Is it reasonable to think that he would stand up to the national Republican bosses who have funded his campaign and fight for real reform on Wall Street?"

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