This morning, executives from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs answered tough questions from Senators about conduct detailed in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit. This comes on the heels of yesterday’s GOP obstruction in the Senate, where every single GOP Senator voted to block debate on much-needed Wall Street reform.
It’s not just Republican Senators who are afraid to have a discussion about Wall Street reform.
Here in Illinois, my Republican opponent, Congressman Kirk, has stayed curiously silent on the issue.
In fact, when a local station asked for "three minutes" of the Congressman’s time to discuss the Wall Street reform bill, Congressman Kirk refused. He doesn’t even mention a single word about any Wall Street reform plans on his website. Not a single word. A simple Google search of my site reveals how important Wall Street reform is to me.
I suspect Congressman Kirk’s silence now has a lot to do with his record of catering to Wall Street’s interests in the House. In the last year alone, he has done the bidding of big business time and time again:
- Congressman Kirk voted against placing new strict requirements on banks and other financial institutions that accepted bailouts. [HR384, Vote 26, 1/21/09]
- Congressman Kirk voted against a bill to bar recipients of the taxpayer bailout from paying any compensation that is "unreasonable or excessive [CQ Today, 4/01/09; HR1664, Vote 182, 4/01/09]
- Congressman Kirk voted against the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act, which gives shareholders a say on the pay of corporate executives. [HR3269, Vote 686, 7/31/09]
- Congressman Kirk voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included a provision to limit the executive pay of firms receiving TARP bailout money. [HR1, Vote 70, 2/13/09]
- Congressman Kirk voted against the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which would tighten federal regulation of Wall Street and banks. [HR 4173,Vote 968, 12/11/09]
When it comes to standing up for Wall Street executives, Mark Kirk sure has a lot to say after taking $1.2 million from the securities and investment industry. But when it comes to standing up for the interests of Illinois families and small business owners and protecting them from Wall Street abuses, Mark Kirk is dead silent.
Well, I’m not silent on the issue.
I’ve been speaking out about the urgent need to reform our regulatory framework since the very beginning of my campaign.
Last year, I introduced a comprehensive reform plan that reins in Wall Street, protects American families and the economy, and gets our nation back on track.
My FutureWorks plan includes:
- Proactively addressing the threat of "too big to fail" institutions rather than waiting for the next crisis to strike. We need enhanced supervision of the most fragile institutions and greater capital requirements at financial firms. I've also called for the creation of an "emergency fund" -- funded solely by contributions by large financial institutions and not by a dime of taxpayer money -- that could be tapped for any future bailout.
- Regulating the non-bank mortgage lending industry. We shouldn't let Wall Street institutions get by with lax regulation because of clever corporate structure. I want to apply the same oversight rules that govern banks to non-bank lending institutions.
- Reining in the unregulated multi-trillion dollar derivatives market that helped create the financial crisisAfter a wave of deregulation in 2000, the derivatives market became inundated with speculative deals and trades done behind closed doors. I support a public exchange on which all over-the-counter derivative transactions would be required to take place. This is the type of transparency that can help avert a future crisis.
- Empowering consumers to protect against deceptive banking and lending practices. The large financial institutions continue to grow rich by charging fees on just about everything and consumers frequently have no idea about these costs that are hidden in fine print. I support the creation of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency that protects consumers from the types of home loans, exorbitant credit card fees, payday loans and other forms of consumer finance that hide costs and push more Americans into an unending cycle of debt.
Reforming Wall Street and protecting consumers from its abuses is just one aspect of my comprehensive economic plan to create jobs, revamp our economy, and set our nation back on track. This is the type of change we need. And this is the type of change Congressman Kirk can't deliver.
Republican Congressman Kirk has taken millions from corporate special interests and then voted their way, time and time again. And what did Wall Street get in return? Congressman Kirk voted to protect taxpayer-funded CEO bonuses almost half a dozen times and has consistently voted against stricter regulation of Wall Street.
It's typical Washington politics and Illinois can't afford it any longer.
That's why I refuse to take a dime from corporate special interests and their D.C. lobbyists and why I've proposed a bold, sweeping Wall Street reform plan.
It’s why it’s so important to have Senators who will hold Wall Street accountable, not ones who will sit silently by and refuse to even have a debate on the most important consumer protection issue we’ve seen in a long time.
I’m going to keep speaking out every day on the trail about Wall Street reform. As for the Congressman? On the issues, I suspect he’ll continue his pattern of being completely silent.
I look forward to discussing the issue in the comments below.