WASHINGTON, U.S. President Barack Obama on
Saturday urged Congress to finish implementing Wall Street reform by
finally putting in place banking rules he signed into law two years ago,
in order to protect U.S. consumers and help the economy.Obama said, in his weekly radio and Internet address, criticized
Republicans in Congress for trying to delay and dismantle the critical
reform aimed at protecting consumers and making Wall Street play by the
same set of rules, and shielding taxpayers from irresponsible behavior
on Wall Street that nearly destroyed the U. S. financial system and cost
millions of jobs."And yet, for the past two years, too many Republicans in Congress
and an army of financial industry lobbyists have actually been waging an
all-out battle to delay, defund, and dismantle Wall Street reform,"
said Obama.
Referring to the more than 2 billion-dollar trading loss at JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, Obama warned that "without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street's mistakes."
"That's why it's so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we can't afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy," Obama said.
"We've got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place," the U.S. president added.
Obama said that the new rules require that a big bank or financial institution should hold more cash on hand, so that it can pay for the loss, not the taxpayer, if it makes a bad decision.The new rules discourage big banks and financial institutions from making risky bets with taxpayer-insured money, and encourage them to do things that actually help the economy, including extending loans to entrepreneurs with good ideas, to middle-class families who want to buy a home, and to students who want to pursue higher education, Obama said.
President Obama said G-8 summit with a new alliance to focus on food security with African leaders and the private sector.Focus, too remained on the crisis in the eurozone.
Briefing reporters Saturday, President Obama said: "As all of the leaders here today agree, growth and jobs must be our top priority."Emphasising that the United States had taken this approach to its own financial crisis, he said he was "confident" that European countries were moving in the right direction. European situation was "more complicated" than America's. Earlier, the G8 leaders said "the right measures are not the same for each of us".President Obama said leaders had made good progress on a range of issues.In addition the eurozone crisis, they discussed Iran, Afghanistan and global energy supply.The leaders of France, Germany, the US, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia met at Camp David in the US state of Maryland.
Referring to the more than 2 billion-dollar trading loss at JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, Obama warned that "without Wall Street reform, we could have found ourselves with the taxpayers once again on the hook for Wall Street's mistakes."
"That's why it's so important that Members of Congress stand on the side of reform, not against it; because we can't afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight; where excessive risk-taking on Wall Street and a lack of basic oversight in Washington nearly destroyed our economy," Obama said.
"We've got to finish the job of implementing this reform and putting these rules in place," the U.S. president added.
Obama said that the new rules require that a big bank or financial institution should hold more cash on hand, so that it can pay for the loss, not the taxpayer, if it makes a bad decision.The new rules discourage big banks and financial institutions from making risky bets with taxpayer-insured money, and encourage them to do things that actually help the economy, including extending loans to entrepreneurs with good ideas, to middle-class families who want to buy a home, and to students who want to pursue higher education, Obama said.
President Obama said G-8 summit with a new alliance to focus on food security with African leaders and the private sector.Focus, too remained on the crisis in the eurozone.
Briefing reporters Saturday, President Obama said: "As all of the leaders here today agree, growth and jobs must be our top priority."Emphasising that the United States had taken this approach to its own financial crisis, he said he was "confident" that European countries were moving in the right direction. European situation was "more complicated" than America's. Earlier, the G8 leaders said "the right measures are not the same for each of us".President Obama said leaders had made good progress on a range of issues.In addition the eurozone crisis, they discussed Iran, Afghanistan and global energy supply.The leaders of France, Germany, the US, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia met at Camp David in the US state of Maryland.
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