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Are our memories so short we can't even remember the financial crash we are not even over yet? 50 Democrats voted for this bill and the President encouraged passage. This is beyond belief. How many people (had they been given the opportunity to vote) would be in favor of rolling back the banking restrictions?
Congress has avoided a government shutdown with last-minute passage of a spending bill before Thursday’s midnight deadline. The $1.1 trillion measure had come under threat after Democrats voiced outrage over last-minute pro-corporate measures. One key provision will repeal a major rule in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that limits risky trades by federally insured banks. Speaking ahead of the vote, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said undoing critical regulation through a government spending bill must be opposed.
Rep. Maxine Waters: "Under the cover of 'must pass' legislation, big bank lobbyists are hoping that Congress will allow Wall Street to once again gamble with taxpayer money –- by reversing a provision that prohibits banks from using taxpayer-insured funds, bank deposits, to engage in risky derivatives trading activity. … This provision must be stopped. Enough is enough."
According to The New York Times, the financial giant Citigroup authored the provision in question. Another amendment will increase tenfold the amount of money allowed for certain political donations.
Despite the objections of Democrats like Maxine Waters, the White House urged lawmakers to pass the bill and avoid a shutdown. More than 50 Democrats then joined with Republicans to approve the bill in a narrow 219-to-206 vote. The measure funds all government agencies through September except for the Department of Homeland Security, whose allocation expires in February. That will set up a new showdown over immigration, with Republicans vowing to hold up additional funding in a challenge to President Obama’s reprieve for up to five million undocumented immigrants.
Congress has avoided a government shutdown with last-minute passage of a spending bill before Thursday’s midnight deadline. The $1.1 trillion measure had come under threat after Democrats voiced outrage over last-minute pro-corporate measures. One key provision will repeal a major rule in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that limits risky trades by federally insured banks. Speaking ahead of the vote, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said undoing critical regulation through a government spending bill must be opposed.
Rep. Maxine Waters: "Under the cover of 'must pass' legislation, big bank lobbyists are hoping that Congress will allow Wall Street to once again gamble with taxpayer money –- by reversing a provision that prohibits banks from using taxpayer-insured funds, bank deposits, to engage in risky derivatives trading activity. … This provision must be stopped. Enough is enough."
According to The New York Times, the financial giant Citigroup authored the provision in question. Another amendment will increase tenfold the amount of money allowed for certain political donations.
Despite the objections of Democrats like Maxine Waters, the White House urged lawmakers to pass the bill and avoid a shutdown. More than 50 Democrats then joined with Republicans to approve the bill in a narrow 219-to-206 vote. The measure funds all government agencies through September except for the Department of Homeland Security, whose allocation expires in February. That will set up a new showdown over immigration, with Republicans vowing to hold up additional funding in a challenge to President Obama’s reprieve for up to five million undocumented immigrants.
