* Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of tile Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
* I frequently talk with central New Jersey residents who are frustrated with the reckless way Wall Street and big banks gamed the system with exotic financial schemes, while families and small businesses paid the price.
* Wall Street reform will protect consumers from deceptive business practices and hidden fees through the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Reform also will protect homebuyers from some of the worst predatory lending practices that contributed to the financial meltdown of 2008.
* Reform finally will restore accountability to Wall Street. Banks no longer will be able to gamble with depositors' savings for their profits. Unregulated derivatives--called ``financial weapons of mass destruction'' by Warren Buffett--will now be traded in the open. Stockholders will vote on executive pay. And hedge fund managers will have to come out from the shadows and register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
* Reform will prevent taxpayer-funded bailouts of financial giants, establishing an orderly process for liquidating failing companies that will be paid for by their investors and creditors--not taxpayers.
* While no bill is perfect, this is the strongest reform since the Great Depression. It will put the cops back on the beat on Wall Street and will help give Americans confidence that the system works for individuals, families and small businesses--not big banks.