Lucas, House Republicans recently
unveiled
a proposal to blow massive holes in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and wrap government
watchdogs in miles of red tape. Sen. Richard Shelby, head of the Senate
Banking Committee who put forward a Wall Street wishlist known as the
“Shelby Bill” last spring, also
declared
he would renew his push to undermine consumer protections.
These Republicans are making no secret about their desire to shape the debate during an election year and set the agenda for next fall, yet some members of the Wall Street wing of the Senate Democratic caucus are talking about compromise. Not only do we need Democratic leaders to recommit to blocking these efforts right away, we need to make it clear that no Democrat should give “bipartisan” cover to a giveaway to the biggest banks.
Sign the petition from CREDO and Daily Kos telling Democratic leaders: Don’t help Republicans gut Wall Street reform.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has been under constant attack. Sen. Shelby has insisted that he hasn’t given up on rolling back Dodd-Frank, and House Republicans have unveiled proposals that would gut the most important reforms.
Republicans are justifying these attacks with an incessantly repeated, dubious claim that they will help smaller community banks. But this is clearly a thinly veiled political cover for a proposal that would mostly help Wall Street titans. They have proposed exempting big non-bank financial companies from rules, even though the insurance company AIG was a huge part of the last crisis. Republican plans also add an absurd and cumbersome process before watchdogs can put forward new rules, add new loopholes for the biggest banks to avoid reform, and more.
No Democrat should spend a split second considering supporting these changes. Nor should they attempt to negotiate with Republicans who have made their true agenda so clear. We need to show Senate Democrats that no amount of arm-twisting from Wall Street lobbyists can change this simple fact: Rolling back Wall Street reform is simply unacceptable.
Tell Democratic leaders: Don’t help Republicans gut Wall Street reform.
Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos