The Hill reported yesterday that Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said that he would vote against advancing the Financial Reform legislation.
According to the article:
"As I have indicated for some time now, my test for the financial regulatory reform bill is whether it will prevent another crisis," Feingold said in a statement. "The conference committee's proposal fails that test and for that reason I will not vote to advance it."
The bill does not include any reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which played a large part in creating the mortgage meltdown that began the recession.
This 2,000 page bill is another Congressional boondoggle. Because of its 2000 pages, no one has studied it closely, and there are some real questions about what its actual effect will be if it passes.
The Wall Street Journal reports today:
"And the late addition of a fee on banks and hedge funds to cover the cost of the legislation is roiling the few Republicans thought likely to vote for the package."
This is another bill that should be scrapped, redone in 25 pages or less and voted on. Unless Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are included in the bill, it will not seriously address financial reform. If past experience is our guide, when the government gets its hands off of Wall Street and the financial sector, things go much better for everyone. Part of the problem that led to the financial meltdown we have experienced was Congress interfering in the way banks made mortgage loans--the subprime mortgage market was created as a result of Congressional pressure to provide housing for low-income people. It was a noble goal, but the Congressional interference created problems no one ever dreamed of.
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