Progressive Organization Gets Behind Banking Reform Measure
The Democratic Secure Viable Banking Act would reinstate Dodd-Frank provisions
A well-known progressive organization is throwing its weight behind new legislation aimed at reestablishing banking regulations which were rolled back during the Trump administration.
The new reform measure comes after recent failures at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank has brought the banking system under fresh scrutiny.
Critics, like those at Democracy For America (DFA), say that Congress is to blame for dismantling key elements of the Dodd-Frank reforms passed after the 2008 financial crash, leaving mid-sized banks with significantly reduced regulation.
“The Secure Viable Banking Act will reinstate the repealed Dodd-Frank rules and thus restore the safeguards needed to maintain the stability of our financial system and strengthen consumer protections,” said Amanda Ford, director of the Democracy for America Advocacy Fund, a progressive advocacy organization founded from the apparatus of Democrat Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. “Every banking crisis proves that lack of oversight puts the financial security of millions of households in jeopardy and undermines the overall stability of our economy.”
The Secure Viable Banking Act, which Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) introduced with Rep Katie Porter (D-Calif.), would repeal Title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act and restore critical Dodd-Frank rules and for large banks, sponsors of the bill say.
The rollback of these protections allowed banks to load up on risk to boost their profits, they add.
Warren spoke on the floor of the Senate about the need for this legislation.
“In 2018, I rang the alarm bell about what would happen if Congress rolled back critical Dodd-Frank protections: Banks would load up on risk to boost their profits and collapse, threatening our entire economy — and that is precisely what happened,” Warren said. “President Biden called on Congress to strengthen the rules for banks, and I’m proposing legislation to do just that by repealing the core of Trump’s bank law.”
Through an email, DFA is asking supporters to sign a petition backing the banking reform bill.
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