Washington, D.C. -- Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney issued the following statement on the the financial turmoil permeating the markets:

 "I'm glad that Secretary Paulson saw fit to prevent the bankruptcy of AIG and help preserve the thousands of jobs at stake in New York and around the world."

"But $85 billion is a mind-boggling amount to ask taxpayers to bear. We on the House Financial Services Committee will be holding a series of hearings at the request of Speaker Pelosi to demand answers about how we got here and how to prevent a recurrence."

"I applaud the SEC for finally issuing regulations today to stiffen its rules against 'naked' short-selling. Many insiders believe the shorts have played a major role in bringing about our current crisis."

"But the government's regulatory mechanisms are clearly too segmented and too archaic to properly oversee all of these financial products which straddle many categories of securities."

"I agree with Paul Volcker and Nicholas Brady that we need basic, long-term reform of the financial system. Clearly that's now at the top of the agenda for for Chairman Frank and those of us on the House Financial Services Committee."

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