Reps. Kaptur, Jones, Ryan and Gabbard call to reinstate key protections to rein in Wall Street
Kaptur leads 26 cosponsors in reintroduction of Return to Prudent Banking Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a press conference today, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) was joined by Reps. Walter Jones (NC-03), Tim Ryan (OH-13) and Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) to introduce the Return to Prudent Banking Act and urge President Donald Trump to live up to his campaign promises on reinstating Glass-Steagall protections in our banking system. The bill is bipartisan with 26 cosponsors and is endorsed by Public Citizen and the AFL-CIO.
"The 2008 crash nearly took down our entire economy and led to the great recession which wiped out average Americans' income. But now, Democrats and Republicans have memorialized support for Glass-Steagall in their respective political platforms. Even President Trump has declared his support for a new Glass-Steagall law," said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. "That is why we are here, to build on the momentum and the movement to reinstate Glass-Stegall."
"Wall Street banks should not be allowed to use taxpayer-insured consumer deposits to gamble in the markets and then get taxpayer bailouts for failed decisions," said Congressman Walter B. Jones. "It's time to put American taxpayers and depositors first. It's time to pass the Return to Prudent Banking Act and reinstate Glass-Steagall."
"I am proud to cosponsor the Return to Prudent Banking Act, which revives the separation between commercial banking and securities companies as written in the Glass-Steagall Act. These are smart financial reforms designed to protect our economy from another financial crisis and hardworking American taxpayers from another Wall Street collapse. We know that the climate of deregulation led to the financial crisis. We can't let that happen again," said Congressman Tim Ryan.
"From the Great Depression through the turn of the 21st Century, Glass-Steagall helped keep our economy safe. Repealing it allowed too-big-to-fail banks to gamble with the savings and livelihoods of the American people, with devastating, irrevocable consequences. Hawaiʻi, along with communities across the country, paid the price in 2008 with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the banks that were ‘too big to fail' in 2008 are even bigger and more powerful now. We must reinstate Glass-Steagall and create a financial system that works for every American—not just Wall Street banks," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
Background: Kaptur has introduced this legislation in every Congress since 2009 and led the way with this common sense proposal that will reinstate the separation between commercial and investment banking. These rules were first established through the Glass-Steagall and Banking Act of 1933. Read more on the Return To Prudent Banking Acthere:
"We welcome Rep. Kaptur's common sense appeal that Wall Street return to prudent banking. With bipartisan support, the Glass-Steagall separation from government-backed money and speculation will inevitably be restored. The only question is how soon. Public Citizen is committed to shrinking time," Bart Naylor, Public Citizen.
Current original cosponsors of Return to Prudent Banking Act, H.R. 790: Reps. Lynch, Ryan (OH), Pocan, DeLauro, Holmes-Norton, Schakowsky, Doyle, Slaughter, Jones, Welch, Watson-Coleman, Serrano, Lipinski, Garamendi, Speier, Ellison, Conyers, Gabbard, Grijalva, Tonko, McGovern, Defazio, Lee, Capuano, Pingree and Fudge.
Contact:
Josh Stewart, Joshua.Stewart@mail.house.gov (Kaptur)
Allison Tucker, Allison.Tucker@mail.house.gov (Jones)
Michael Zetts, Michael.Zetts@mail.house.gov (Ryan)
Emily Latimer, Emily.Latimer@mail.house.gov (Gabbard)