10-R126
2010 -- S 2719
Enacted 03/24/10
S E N A T E R E
S O L U T I O N
SUPPORTING
FINANCIAL REFORM TO PROTECT RHODE
Introduced By: Senators Pichardo, Sheehan, DiPalma, and Pinga
Date Introduced: March 24, 2010
WHEREAS, Local
communities across the
worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a crisis which
has major and continuing impact
on families, jobs, businesses, public services, and all
institutions; and
WHEREAS, The current financial crisis has its roots in the reckless
policies and practices
of many segments of the financial services industry, in
particular many of the largest Wall Street
firms; and
WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the global credit crisis and deepening
recession, it has
become obvious that policies of the financial services
industry have an unavoidable and massive
impact on every sector of the economy and that the health of
the financial services sector is
central to the health of the economy as a whole; and
WHEREAS, The recent deep constriction of credit has undermined the
ability of local
business and governments to maintain payrolls, sustain needed
services, make sound investments
for their future, and even to take steps to ameliorate
the damage and suffering caused by the
financial crisis; and
WHEREAS, Record home
foreclosures—the most since the Great Depression—have
forced hundreds of thousands of families out of their homes
across the country and have had a
particularly damaging impact on the
WHEREAS, The American
public’s trust has been severely shaken to a point where
citizens do not trust banks, banking regulators, and even the
government; and
WHEREAS, Many national policymakers, economists, and leading figures
in business
and in the financial services industry itself now
recognize that reasonable steps must be taken to
avoid a repetition of these events, and that key reforms
are needed in the oversight of the financial
services industry; and
WHEREAS, A streamlined
method for overseeing certain activities and reporting to the
public is clearly required for the industry to correct its
abuses and to better serve the interests of
investors, consumers, and taxpayers alike; and
WHEREAS, The lack of sufficient regulation has pressured thousands of
community
banks to struggle against unfair competitive practices,
fostering a race to the bottom to the
detriment of responsible landing practices; and
WHEREAS, Even with the appearance of some signs of economic recovery,
it is clear
that the deep impact of the recession will be felt for
many months and can, in fact, cause even
more damage unless the credit crisis eases and investments
resume; and
WHEREAS, The pain is very real in the lives of everyday Americans as
they struggle to
hang on to their homes, their jobs, their health care, and
their standard of living. We need to
restore accountability, fairness, and security to our
financial system; and
WHEREAS, The Consumer
Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) will send the important
message to consumers that it is safe to start borrowing
again, as Americans need a CFPA with
robust authority and sufficient resources to clean up the
types of abusive and unfair credit,
savings, and payment products that led to financial meltdown;
and
WHEREAS, Congress is
considering the creation of a federal Consumer Financial
Protection Agency (CFPA) mandated to improve fairness
and accountability and to consolidate
and streamline key watchdog functions that are now spread
over several agencies; and
WHEREAS, the CFPA will
be charged with creating a fair playing field in the credit
industry, promoting competition, innovation, consumer access, and
choice, in accordance with
principles of sound lending and management, and the CFPA’s jurisdiction over both banks and
non-banks will provide consolidated authority for supervision
and enforcement for the most cost-
effective oversight of the industry; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
hereby supports and urges members of Congress to work
together to restore confidence in the
financial services industry and assure that new safeguards will
be implemented to prevent a
recurrence of this catastrophe; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That as time is the essence, this Senate urges Congress
to act expeditiously
to approve and send to the President legislation that
conforms to the principles stated in the
findings of this resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That this Senate hereby specifically urges our
Representatives and
Senators to support the creation of an independent, stand-alone Consumer
Financial Protection Agency
that covers all financial products, has rulemaking, primary
examination, and enforcement authority, and serves as a federal
floor of protection, not a ceiling;
and that
Administration to ensure CFPA’s authorization and funding in this Congress; and be
it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is
authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the
members of the
Delegation
and the President of the
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LC01675
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