It's a Financial Reform Slumber Party!

This week, the Senate has voted three times on whether or not to discuss financial reform, including the creation of consumer protection agency.  Each time, they’ve voted NOT to discuss this all-important topic.

So, Senate leaders have had enough.  They’re holding an all-night slumber party in the Senate to nudge a few Senators into changing their minds.  (Read more about the party from The Hill.)

The thought of all those Senators yawning in the Chamber wearing their PJs is pretty funny.  But what’s at stake is dead serious.  At AFFIL we’ve been supporting the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) for years.  The bill at stake – S. 3217 – would create one (though it would be called a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).  Since the House already approved a bill to create a CFPA, everything is riding on the Senate.

And, the bill would rein in Wall Street’s excesses – providing transparency over trading, and ending the era of “too big to fail.”

The bill needs to be strengthened.  But the first step is opening up the process for discussion, which 42 Senators have voted against three times.  (Sixty Senators must vote to open debate, leaving us two Senators shy of the mark.)

Thousands of Americans are contacting the Senate this to tell them to get a move on.  Here’s what AFFIL members are saying:

1. Enact strong financial reform legislation to hold banks accountable for crashing our economy and costing us 8.2 million jobs.
2. Put an end to the casino economy on Wall Street and bring all shadow markets into the light.
3. Create an effective, independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency with authority over all financial products.
4. Prevent future bailouts by making “too big to fail” too big to exist, reining in reckless behavior, and creating a way to wind down failed banks that doesn’t cost me.
5. Don’t let any carve outs, loopholes, or exemptions sneak into the bill!

You can get involved too – tell the Senate to get moving!  Tell them to rein in Wall Street and protect consumers.  It’s been a year and a half since our economy crashed – the time for reform is NOW.

Call your Senators, sign the petition, and find a financial reform event near you.  Thanks!

(Photo: College Candy)