Archive for May, 2010:
A Message from the President: “They backed down”
Following the Senate's vote on Wall Street reform, President Obama shared the following message with OFA supporters:
On Thursday, the Senate passed historic Wall Street reform. This movement proved again that the strongest special interests, who for so long have called the shots in Washington, can be beat.
When opponents in Congress tried to block the legislation altogether, you stood up -- and they backed down. When the lobbyists pushed for loopholes and exemptions just before a final vote, you did not relent -- and we fought them off.
Your support brought us to this day -- and, because of that, we're poised to implement sensible reforms that will provide a stronger foundation for economic growth.
Now, the House and Senate must iron out their differences before I can sign it into law. But the financial industry will not give up. They have already spent more than $1 million per member of Congress, lobbying on this issue. And in the coming days, they will go all in. This is their last shot to stall, weaken, or kill reform, and they are not accustomed to losing.
But this movement has you -- and together, we have beaten the special interests before.
Please donate today to help Organizing for America continue to mobilize thousands -- to counter the special interests' attacks and get strong Wall Street reform to my desk.
Every American has a stake in this bill.
If you have ever been treated unfairly by a credit card company, this reform works for you -- never again will Americans be duped by fine print or hidden fees.
If you ever try to take out a home loan or student loan, this reform Cheap Accutane works for you -- putting an end to predatory and deceptive lending practices.
And, if you or your small business relies on credit from community banks that are being punished for playing by the rules while their competitors do not, this reform works for you -- reining in the big banks and making sure all our lenders are subject to tough oversight.
These reforms would put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history. And, by helping safeguard our economy from recklessness on Wall Street, it would ensure that a crisis like the one that caused this recession never happens again.
This is not a zero-sum game where Wall Street loses and Main Street wins. As we have learned, in today's economy, we are all connected. When the economy prospers, we all win. Senators of both parties recognize that fact, and that is why lawmakers stood up to the lobbyists and worked across the aisle to ensure that Wall Street reform passed.
But this fight is not yet over. And it is up to us to overcome this final test and pass reform into law. When we do, the power of this movement to make change in Washington -- despite the best efforts of the special interests -- will no longer be up for debate.
Please donate $5 or more today.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama
The President’s Weekly Address: BP Spill Independent Commission
"First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton. And we will continue to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and transparent about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it down, repairing the damage it does, and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a financial loss.
But even as we continue to hold BP accountable, we also need to hold Washington accountable. Now, this catastrophe is unprecedented in its nature, and it presents a host of new challenges we are working to address. But the question is what lessons we can learn from this disaster to make sure it never happens again.
...One of the reasons I ran for President was to put America on the path to energy independence, and I have not wavered from that commitment. To achieve that goal, we must pursue clean energy and energy efficiency, and we’ve taken significant steps to do so. And we must also pursue domestic sources of oil and gas. Because it represents 30 percent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in securing our Buy cheap Accutane Online energy future. But we can only pursue offshore oil drilling if we have assurances that a disaster like the BP oil spill will not happen again."
In the News: ‘Last night lobbyist domination came to a screeching halt’
Forbes - Score Another For Obama As Senate Passes Wall Street Reform:
The Senate passed a financial regulatory bill Thursday evening that would be the most sweeping reform of the banking system since the 1930s.
Approved by a 59-39 margin, with two Democrats voting against it and four Republicans voting in favor, it now has to be reconciled with a bill approved by the House of Representatives in December before President Barack Obama can sign it. The Obama administration, which put financial reform among its three top priorities alongside health care reform, has said it wants to have a hand in the finalization of the bill.
The Senate's legislation would give the federal government new authority to regulate and shut down financial companies, close loopholes in regulation that many say allowed risky activities to spread without oversight, and impose new restrictions on risk-taking by banks. The bill, introduced by Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, creates a new consumer protection agency under the Federal Reserve and a new council of regulators who would keep watch over the financial system.
In a statement Thursday evening, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, "The House and Senate have now each passed strong bills that protect consumers, limit risk-taking by large institutions, and addresses the problem of "too big to fail."
"When this bill becomes law, the joy ride on Wall Street will come to a screeching halt," Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said after the vote.
The 1,500-page measure, shepherded through the Senate by Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the banking committee, seeks to reshape both Washington and Wall Street.
In providing for the most profound remaking of financial regulations since the Great Depression, the legislation would create a new consumer-protection watchdog housed at the Federal Reserve to prevent abuse in mortgage, auto and credit card lending. It also would give the government power to wind down large failing financial firms and set up a council of federal overseers to police the financial landscape for risks to the global economy. Moreover, the legislation would establish oversight of the vast market in financial instruments known as derivatives, impose new restrictions on credit rating agencies and give shareholders a say in corporate affairs.
Passage of the measure marks a milestone in President Obama's efforts to tackle the financial abuse and excess that contributed to the crisis and prevent another meltdown.
The vote gives Obama his second major legislative victory of the year, following the March passage of his landmark health-care bill. "Our goal is not to punish the banks," he said in the White House Rose Garden hours before the final vote, "but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years."
Robert Creamer/Huffington Post - Senate Vote Signals Historic Change in Wall Street Political Clout:
The Wall Street Reform bill passed last night by the United States Senate goes a long way toward reining in the reckless casino economy that cost eight million Americans their jobs, and brought our economy to its knees.
But its passage signals an even more significant shift in the economic assumptions and power relationships that undergird American political and economic life.
For four decades Wall Street had its way with American government. Buy cheap Cialis Online The big Wall Street banks and their economic apologists dominated the main stream of economic thought - and their army of lobbyists called the shots on Capitol Hill. Last night their domination came to a screeching halt.
Senate Passes Strongest Wall Street Reform Since the 1930’s
The Senate last night passed the strongest Wall Street reforms since the aftermath of the Great Depression, taking a step toward reining in Wall Street and protecting consumers from abuse. As big bank lobbyists went all out to block reform, supporters kicked their efforts into high gear, making thousands of phone calls asking Republican senators to vote 'yes.’ The bill passed by a vote of 59 to 39, and was even strengthened by many amendments added over the course of the debate.
The Senate on Thursday approved a far-reaching financial regulatory bill, putting Congress on the brink of approving a broad expansion of government oversight of the increasingly Cheap Cialis complex banking system and financial markets.
The legislation is intended to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis, but also reshapes the role of numerous federal agencies and vastly empowers the Federal Reserve in an attempt to predict and contain future debacles.
The vote was 59 to 39, with four Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor of the bill....
Democratic Congressional leaders and the Obama administration must now work to combine the Senate measure with a version approved by the House in December, a process that is expected to take several weeks....
“It’s a choice between learning from the mistakes of the past or letting it happen again,” the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said after the vote. “For those who wanted to protect Wall Street, it didn’t work.”
The bill seeks to curb abusive lending, particularly in the mortgage industry, and to ensure that troubled companies, no matter how big or complex, can be liquidated at no cost to taxpayers. And it would create a “financial stability oversight council” to coordinate efforts to identify risks to the financial system. It would also establish new rules on the trading of derivatives and require hedge funds and most other private equity companies to register for regulation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Next, the House and Senate will come together to iron out the differences between the bill passed last night and the one approved in the House last year.
A Big Step Forward on Wall Street Reform
The Senate today took a big step forward on Wall Street reform, voting to move ahead with debate on legislation to rein in big banks and enact the toughest consumer protections in history. The bill passed 60-40, setting up a vote on the bill itself, possibly as soon as tonight.
After this afternoon's vote President Obama spoke in the Rose Garden and explained what Wall Street reform will mean for Americans in their day-to-day lives:
I want to thank Senator Chris Dodd and Majority Leader Reid for their leadership on this legislation, as well as all the senators who put partisan posturing aside in allowing a vote on this important reform. And I want to thank every American who kept the pressure on Washington to change a system that worked better for banks on Wall Street than it did for families on Main Street.
...Because of Wall Street reform, we’ll soon have in place the strongest consumer protections in history. If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, a student loan, or a mortgage, you know the feeling of signing your name to pages of barely understandable fine print. It’s a big step for most families, but one that’s often filled with unnecessary confusion and apprehension. As a result, many Americans are simply duped into hidden fees and loans they just can’t afford by companies that know exactly what they’re doing.
Those days will soon end. From now on, every consumer will be empowered with the clear and concise information that you need to make financial decisions that are best for you. This bill will crack down on predatory practices and unscrupulous mortgage lenders. It will enforce the new credit card law we passed banning unfair rate hikes, and ensure that folks aren’t unwittingly caught by overdraft fees when they sign up for a checking account. It will give students who take out college loans information and make sure lenders don’t cheat the system. And it will ensure that every American receives a free credit score if they are denied a loan or insurance because of that score....
In short, Wall Street reform will bring greater security to folks on Main Street -- to families who are looking to buy their first car or their first home; to taxpayers who shouldn’t have to pay for somebody else’s irresponsibility; to small businesses and community banks who play by the rules; and to shareholders and investors who want to see their companies grow and thrive.
Hi, is Senator Brown there? It’s OFA.
With a vote to move forward with Wall Street reform just hours away, Organizing for America received word that Senator Scott Brown was publicly wavering—saying he would support reform but then standing with big banks' lobbyists and opposing it. OFA supporters in Massachusetts swung into action, making nearly 3,000 calls to Senator Brown's office in support of Wall Street reform, with 922 in just the last two hours before today's vote.
The vote to proceed with Wall Street reform debate passed 60-40. And after hearing from thousands of local OFA supporters, Scott Brown was the one Republican voting ‘yes,’ whose vote pushed reform over the line.
Provigil pharmacyWall Street reform cleared its latest hurdle today, passing what might be its biggest test: getting 60 votes in the Senate.
The reform bill passed on a 60-40 vote, with one Republican voting "yea." Who? You guessed it: Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican who took Democrats' supermajority away when he defeated Martha Coakley.
Brown reportedly had an intense talk with Majority Leader Harry Reid on the Senate floor yesterday, when he voted "no" on the same procedural measure. Later, Reid said at a news conference that a senator "broke his word to me," and Brown reportedly confirmed that Reid was referring to him.
But now, thanks to Brown, the 60-vote hurdle has been cleared.
What's next: a final, up-or-down vote on the financial reform bill, which is almost certain to pass (only 50 votes will be needed), then a conference committee to merge the Senate bill with the House's more aggressive package, which the lower chamber passed in December. Then each chamber will vote again on the final version.
Brown apparently received some pressure from Organizing for America activists leading up to this vote. According to an OFA official, members placed 922 calls to Brown's office in the two hours before the Senate voted this afternoon.
Watch Live: President Obama on Wall Street Reform Vote
UPDATE: The event has now ended.
Following today’s Senate’s vote to move forward with debate on Wall Street reform legislation, President Obama will speak at 4:20 p.m. ET from the Rose Garden.
The Los Angeles Times has more on today’s vote and what’s next:
The Senate on Thursday took a major step toward approving a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations, voting 60-40 on a key procedural motion that paves the way for final passage by the end of the week.
The Senate vote starts the clock ticking on the end of three weeks of debate on the landmark bill, which would enact the most far-reaching Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription rewrite of financial rules since the Great Depression.
President Obama on Immigration Reform: “I don’t expect to get every Republican vote, but I need some help in order to get it done”
Ahead of last night's State Dinner, President Obama and President Calderón of Mexico spoke about some of the two countries' common interests, including fixing the broken immigration system, creating jobs, and increasing competition in the global economy.
The President made it clear that he is working to pass comprehensive immigration reform, but to do so, he’ll need support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress:
“To fix our broken immigration system, I reaffirmed my deep commitment to working with Congress in a bipartisan way to pass comprehensive immigration reform. …We’ve been working hard to get this done. There’s a strong proposal in the Senate, based on a bipartisan framework, and it can and should move forward.
Here’s the Buy Cialis challenge that we have politically. The political challenge is, is that I have confidence that I can get the majority of Democrats, both in the House and the Senate, to support a piece of legislation of the sort that I just described. But I don’t have 60 votes in the Senate. I’ve got to have some support from Republicans. When we made an effort of this sort a few years ago, it was under the leadership of John McCain and Ted Kennedy. And because there was a bipartisan effort, we were actually able to generate a majority of votes in the Senate. And we just missed being able to get it done in the House.
If we can re-create that atmosphere -- I don't expect to get every Republican vote, but I need some help in order to get it done. And there have been people who have expressed an interest. But if they're willing to come forward and get a working group and get this moving, I’m actually confident that we can get it done."
President Obama also spoke about Arizona’s new immigration law, calling it a "misdirected expression of frustration over our broken immigration system":
“I want every American to know my administration has devoted unprecedented resources in personnel and technology to securing our border. Illegal immigration is down, not up, and we will continue to do what’s necessary to secure our shared border.
And I want everyone, American and Mexican, to know my administration is taking a very close look at the Arizona law. We’re examining any implications, especially for civil rights. Because in the United States of America, no law-abiding person -- be they an American citizen, a legal immigrant, or a visitor or tourist from Mexico -- should ever be subject to suspicion simply because of what they look like.”
What are you doing June 5th? Host a Vote 2010 Kick-off Canvass
Organizing for America Deputy Director Jeremy Bird sent the following email inviting supporters to host Vote 2010 Kick-off Canvasses next month:
A couple weeks ago, David Plouffe laid out the plan for this fall's elections: Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription connect with the 15 million folks who voted for the first time in 2008 and get them out to the polls again.
It's going to be a big lift, and we need your help to pull it off.
It all starts the weekend of June 5th. We're holding Vote 2010 Kick-off Canvasses across the country, where OFA volunteers will get together to go door-to-door in their communities, all with the goal of engaging first-time 2008 voters and getting them to commit to return to the polls this fall.
And to make it happen, we need volunteers to host events. All you need is a place where folks can gather to get started -- it could be your living room, a nearby community center, or a park -- and we'll provide you with materials and instructions to go from there.
You're one of our most active supporters, so I'm hoping you'll step up and host a Kick-off Canvass the weekend of June 5th. What do you say?
We've accomplished a lot together in these first 16 months of President Obama's term -- from the Recovery Act to health insurance reform, and, hopefully, we'll soon be able to add Wall Street reform to that list.
But if we want to continue the progress, it's important that we do everything we can to ensure that President Obama has as many allies in Congress as possible when a new session begins next year.
And, for us at OFA, that starts with getting first-time voters from 2008 back to the polls in the fall.
We know that first-time voters can play a crucial role in a Democratic victory. These voters support the President in record numbers, but, based on historical trends, they aren't very likely to vote this fall. That's why engaging them now, and letting them know about the important votes they need to cast, can make all the difference.
Can you host a Vote 2010 Kick-off Canvass to get us on the way in your area?
http://my.barackobama.com/Vote2010Host
Thanks for making it happen,
Jeremy
Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America
“Call your Republican senator — pass Wall Street reform”
Organizing for America Director Mitch Stewart just sent the following email to supporters:
The Senate is ready to cast a critical vote on Wall Street reform today. And reports from Capitol Hill indicate that things could go either way.
Earlier this month, Republican senators voted repeatedly to block Wall Street reform from even coming to debate.
But our grassroots pressure paid off -- and the Republicans caved. If there's a lesson to learn from that, it's that we simply can't let up now -- not until the bill is passed.
Let's make sure Republican senators hear the message loud and clear: Rein in Wall Street.
Tell Republican senators to stand up to the big banks on Wall Street reform. Call the Senate today.
The House has already passed reform. And today's Senate vote is one of the last hurdles to landing a bill on President Obama's desk.
But over the last two weeks we've seen the big banks' lobbyists aren't ready to give in yet. They've been working hard to slip loopholes and exemptions into the final bill.
So far, with your help, we've been able to keep Wall Street reform strong -- with powerful protections for consumers and tough provisions that would rein in the big banks.
But, with the vote today, the lobbyists are going into overdrive. They know if we can get Republican senators to vote for strong reform, they have no chance of stopping this legislation from becoming law.
Help us put the pressure on Republican senators by calling in your support for the bill.
Then make sure you let us know how it Buy Accutane went:
http://my.barackobama.com/WallStreetSenateCalls
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
