Obama Says Financial Regulation Bill to Help Boost Growth, Prevent Crises
President Barack Obama today called on Congress to take the final steps in overhauling U.S. financial regulations, saying the new rules will help strengthen the U.S. economy.
In his weekly address on the radio and Internet, Obama said the legislation, which congressional negotiators agreed to early yesterday morning, will help prevent future financial crises.
“We’re still digging ourselves out of an economic crisis that happened largely because there wasn’t strong enough oversight on Wall Street,” Obama said before traveling to Canada for a summit of the Group of 20 nations. “We can’t build a strong economy in America over the long-run without ending this status quo, and laying a new foundation for growth and prosperity.”
Congress may as soon as next week approve the legislation to protect consumers, curb risks, boost surveillance of emerging threats to markets and give regulators more emergency powers to avoid future taxpayer-funded bailouts of too-big-to- fail firms.
Obama praised the legislation for representing “90 percent of what I proposed” at the start of the debate, including limits on banks investing their own capital in hedge funds or private equity funds.
Obama said the new rule will prevent banks backed by federal insurance from engaging “in risky trades for their own profit.”
The legislation creates a new agency overseeing consumer financial products, which Obama said will prevent credit card and mortgage companies from using hidden fees and penalties to take advantage of consumers.
“Getting this far on Wall Street reform hasn’t been easy. There are those who’ve fought tooth-and-nail to preserve the status quo,” he said. “I urge Congress to take us over the finish line and send me a reform bill I can sign into law.”
Republican Address
In the Republican address, Representative Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, criticized Democrats for not approving a budget this year to rein in “out-of-control spending.”
“Talk about a recipe for disaster,” said Ryan, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee. “Democrats are offering no budget, no priorities, and no restraints.”
Ryan said Democrats are “missing a critical opportunity” to take action against the deficit while providing fiscal discipline that can create jobs and fuel economic growth.
“This is the time to make tough choices, not run from them,” he said.
“We need to start reining in unnecessary spending now so that we can boost the economy and work together to address our nation’s long term fiscal challenges,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net
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