Murkowski Opposes Financial Regulatory Reform Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after voting against the financial regulatory reform bill, which passed the Senate 60 – 39:
“Everyone agrees that reform of Wall Street is necessary, but this legislation doesn’t do that. It is disturbing to me that this bill has garnered the support of the very banks that helped bring on the financial disaster and is opposed by the community banks, credit unions and small businesses that had nothing to do with the financial meltdown, yet will bear the brunt of the bill’s pain. Furthermore, the legislation does nothing to address the role that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played in nearly bringing down our financial system.
“What the bill does is create a massive new Washington bureaucracy in the name of consumer protection. The bill would terminate the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief) Program and use the leftover funds to pay for the measure, which is nothing more than a slight-of-hand accounting gimmick. That is money that should be going to reduce the unprecedented $13 trillion national debt, not creating a huge new government agency. I am concerned that as a consequence of this legislation, we will see a constriction of credit and a consolidation of financial institutions, all of which threaten our small banks. Like the recent overhauls of the health care and student loan industries, this bill represents yet another overreach by the federal government. ”
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