Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) voted to rein in Wall Street, end taxpayer bailouts of big banks, and create a consumer financial protection bureau that finally puts consumers first.  The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act  (H.R. 4173) will end the era of abuses by “too big to fail” banks that have cost the American people 8 million jobs and $17 trillion in retirement savings and net worth.  The legislation passed by a vote of 237-192.

“Wall Street’s recklessness and greed has made Floridians lose their homes, their jobs, and their retirement savings” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  “Due to an era of self-regulation, big banks were allowed to unfairly profit off the American people.  This is just plain wrong. And this is our first step to putting power back in the hands of consumers.”

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will help prevent the risky financial practices that led to the financial meltdown. It will stop large financial firms from gambling with Americans’ retirement and college savings and home values.

Taxpayers will no longer pay for Wall Street’s irresponsibility.  The bill creates a process to shut down large, failing firms whose collapse would put the entire economy at risk.  After exhausting all of the company’s assets and shareholder’s value, additional costs would be covered by a “dissolution fund,” to which all large financial firms would contribute.

The bill will create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new consumer watchdog devoted to protecting Americans from unfair and abusive financial practices.  This independent bureau will provide clear and accurate information to families and small businesses to ensure that bank loans, mortgages, and other financial products are fair and affordable.  Just like the FDA does for medical safety, the CFPB will set safety standards to prevent deceptive “fine print,” and other financial abuses that have escaped oversight so far.

“My job is to fight for working families. We need to protect the people of this country from fraud, and we need to provide Floridians with financial security,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “But once again, the Republican leadership in Washington sought to block reform and stood with Wall Street special interests against reform. They proved again that they are willing to pick big banks and Wall Street over America’s families and small businesses.”

The bill has been called the “strongest set of Wall Street reforms in three generations” by Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the nonpartisan Congressional Oversight Panel, and has been endorsed by the AARP, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Council of Institutional Investors, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Restaurant Association, Public Citizen, SEIU, and US PIRG, among other organizations. The bill was publicly debated for more than 50 hours, and includes over 70 Republican and bipartisan amendments.

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