Senate Proceeding on Sep 26th, 2008 :: 0:00:00 to 0:20:00
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0:09:11 to 0:09:51( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: good compromise that was a basis to take to secretary paulson. it did far more for taxpayers, for homeowners, for oversight than the existing bill. unfortunately, however, we needed a four-legged stool

0:09:11 to 0:15:57( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Charles Schumer

0:12:35 to 0:12:48( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: and one leg just vanished, the house republicans, in a way that none of us still understand. in addition senator mccain's desire, even though he hadn't been involved in this legislation at all,

0:12:48 to 0:12:57( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: to fly in, put another fly in the ointment an created more trouble. senator -- and created more trouble. senator mccain, i haven't heard him offer one constructive remark. we don't know what he supports.

0:12:57 to 0:13:10( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: does he support the how's plan? does he support the president's an. by all reports he hardly spoke at the meeting, wch was his opportunity to try to do something. he spoke at the end and didn't say what

0:13:10 to 0:13:25( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: his views whereas to whether he supported each plan. and so we really need two things, mr. president, on the republican side. and we need president bush to take leadership. we need president bush, first

0:13:25 to 0:13:47( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: and foremost, tpo get the republican house members to support his plan or modify it in some way to bring them on board, yet keep the democratic house members, the republican members of the senate and

0:13:47 to 0:14:03( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: the democratic members of the senate on board. and, second, we need the president to respectfully tell senator mccain to get out of town. he's not helping. he is harming. when you inject presidential

0:14:03 to 0:14:16( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: politics into some of the most difficult negotiations under normal circumstances, it is fraught with difficulty. before mccain made his announcement, we were making great progress. now after his announcement,

0:14:16 to 0:14:39( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: we are behind the 8 ball. we have to put things back together again. so this is a plea to president bush, for the sake of america, please get your party in line. get the house republicans to be more constructive,

0:14:39 to 0:14:55( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: get senator mccain to leave town and not throw fire on these flames. and maybe we can get something done. in fact, not maybe. we have no choice but to get something done. so, again, to reiterate my

0:14:55 to 0:15:08( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: three points: one, first, we will work until we have a product. the perilous state of our financial markets and our national economy, the danger to average americans now unforeseen but real and lurking

0:15:08 to 0:15:25( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: behind the shadows says we can do nothing else. two, we will continue to work for a better plan than the one the president proposed, with protection for taxpayers, homeowners, and real oversight. and, three,

0:15:25 to 0:15:41( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: the president must get his republican house in order by getting the house republicans in line andsking senator mccain respectfully to leave town, because without republican cooperation we cannot

0:15:41 to 0:15:57( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: pass this bill. i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader is recognized. mr. durbin: i know there is an order for senator harkin to speak

0:15:57 to 0:16:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: next, and he's in the cloakroom. i told him i would speak for a moment until he's prepared to come to the floor. so i ask consent to speak next in the democratic order. the presiding officer: without

0:15:57 to 0:22:19( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

0:16:10 to 0:16:27( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: mr. president, i thank the senator from new york for his comments. of course, being from the state of new york, he feels intensely and personally what's happening

0:16:27 to 0:16:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: with many of these economic decisions on wall street. this involves not only the savings of millions of americans, but the jobs and careers of many people who are working hard in the financial sector.

0:16:46 to 0:17:01( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: i'm sorry we've reached this point, and i'm also sorry that of all the things that have been proposed so far, there are two glaring omissions. i understand that time is a constraint on our activities

0:17:01 to 0:17:15( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: here, but we really have to come to grips with the fundamental issue that's at stake. what we have done on wall street over the years is create a shadow credit industry with no oversight and little

0:17:15 to 0:17:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: regulation. as a result, this has been anything goes capitalism on wall street which, sadly, has led to the demise of major investment banks and brokerage houses. it isn't just their misfortune. it's

0:17:26 to 0:17:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the misfortune. employees and investors, savers and retirees who counted on them for their future. the idea that we would step aside and let the magic of capitalism work its will has shown us that

0:17:40 to 0:17:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: we should have thought more of this. it wasn't that many years ago on the senate floor that i was debating senator phil gramm of texas. he was the high priest of this theory of fundamentalism, free-market

0:17:56 to 0:18:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: fundamentalism. and he would come to the floor and argue get the government out of the way. all you can do is get in the way, create red tape, slow things down and diminish profit taking and wealth

0:18:09 to 0:18:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: creation. well, he carried the day for a long period of time. he had this svengali influence on many senators, including the republican nominee for president, john mccain, and look what we've reaped from

0:18:25 to 0:18:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: this. we have now a crisis, an economic crisis, just to quote the secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the federal reserve, that has been generated by this market philosophy. so at the end

0:18:39 to 0:18:56( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of the day we need to put in place sensible regulation so that the taxpayers are protected and the people who count on these investment houses can have some assurance that their money will be returned.

0:18:56 to 0:19:14( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that, i think, is the bottom line, and we won't have time to do that before the end of this year. it will take time to do it carefully. it must be part of it. the second point i'll make -- and i see senator

0:19:14 to 0:19:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: harkin has come to the floor. the second point i'll make is this: there is a great tkaoefl empathy and concern for those on wall street whose -- deal of empathy and concern for those on wall street whose

0:19:25 to 0:19:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: businesses are facing failure. i have concern too, but i have more concern for homeowners across america who are losing literally thousands of homes to foreclosure because of the tricks and traps which these

0:19:36 to 0:19:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: same entities put in their mortgage instruments. i think of people that i have met in chicago, retirees, living on social security, lured into these rotten mortgage arrangements, about to lose their

0:19:45 to 0:19:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: homes because of someone who brought them into a room and had them sign a stack of papers with a reset that took the home away when the monthly cost went beyond their social security check. that's

0:19:59 to 0:20:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: an outrage. how many tears have been shed on the floor of the senate or in washington for these people? none. what we hear from this administration is it's their misfortune. they made a bad decision.