Cleaver: Financial reform bill is far from perfect

In his latest EC from DC column, Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says the financial reform plan passed this week is far from perfect:

Despite the efforts of 3,000-plus lobbyists — that is 5 lobbyists for every Member of Congress— and $1.3 billion spent by 850 banks to kill financial regulatory reform legislation, yesterday the Senate finally joined the House in taking a significant step forward in preventing a repeat of our recent economic collapse. 

The bill is far from perfect, and I hope that the Conference Committee that will now reconcile the House and Senate versions will be televised as Chairman Frank has asked. Differences between the chambers should be ironed out in the light of day. I am sure that after spending over a billion dollars lobbying so far, the pressure the financial industry and their lobbyists will place on the conferees will be immense. We must continue to be vigilant so the American people get a final bill that is both effective and responsible. After months of hearings and debate, we are close to having a bill that holds Wall Street accountable and secures stability in our financial markets. If the provisions hold, for the first time we will have: 

• A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to watch out for the average citizen in our country when they are abused by a financial market place that tries to take advantage of them on home mortgages and credit cards.

• Transparency and accountability for derivatives with mandatory clearing and exchange trading.

• A system in place, so that when a giant company fails, it fails, its management is fired, its shareholders and creditors are wiped out, and never again will taxpayers be forced to bail them out.

• An advance warning system, so somebody is on the lookout for the next big problem in the economy before it’s too late to do anything about it.

The bottom line is this: for far too long Wall Street has played fast and loose with money that was not theirs. Behind every single dollar traded or leveraged on the market floor, there is a family who invested to pay for a new home, save for their child’s education or have a more comfortable retirement. This is not Wall Street’s or the big banks’ money — it has always been yours. It is high time they started treating you, and your hard-earned money, with respect.