(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) applauded President Obama’s signing of the new Wall Street Reform law that will protect Washington state families, hold Wall Street accountable, and guarantee that Washington state taxpayers will never again be on the hook to bail out Wall Street or clean up after big banks’ messes. Murray fought hard for this bill, and recently spoke on the Senate floor to explain how it would help Washington state families and small business owners and to urge her colleagues to support it.

“With the passage of Wall Street Reform into law today, the era of taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts is officially over. 

“This new law provides Washington families with the strongest consumer protections in our history. It finally adjusts the playing field to put families and their finances before big banks, credit card companies and mortgage lenders. And it guarantees that Washington taxpayers will never again be left holding the bag for Wall Street’s reckless risk taking. 

“The law provides strong new protections for small businesses, students, seniors, and our service members. It encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own finances and protects them from rip-offs and unfair fees. It takes Wall Street’s most dangerous practices out of the shadows.

“I was proud to stand up for Washington state families and against the Wall Street lobbyists and special interests who were fighting so hard to protect big banks and maintain the status quo. For far too long the financial rules of the road have favored Wall Street over Washington families. This new law finally turns that tide.”

Wall Street Reform Immediate Deliverables: The Strongest Consumer Protections Ever Provided for Washington State Families

• An End to Bailouts: An explicit guarantee that Washington state taxpayers will never have to bail out Wall Street again.

• Strongest Consumer Protections Ever Enacted: A new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help expose big bank rip-offs, end unfair fees, curb out-of-control credit card and mortgage rates, and be a new “cop on the beat” to safeguard consumers.

• Ending “Too Big to Fail”:  Creates an early warning system to identify companies and activities that pose a risk to the overall economy; implements new restrictions on the risk that large companies can take on; and establishes a safe and orderly system for liquidating a failed financial company. 

• Regulating Derivatives: Strong new regulations of Wall Street’s dark markets that were utilized to gamble with the savings of Washington families.

• New Transparency: Enhanced authority for bank regulators to improve transparency and oversight of banks.

• Protects Small Businesses from Unreasonable Fees: Requires Federal Reserve to issue rules to ensure that fees charged to merchants by credit card companies debit card transactions are reasonable and proportional to the cost of processing those transactions.

• Protection for Service Members: A new consumer advocate focused on protecting service members and their families who are too often the target of predatory lending.

• New accountability and transparency for the Federal Reserve.

• Vote on Executive Pay and Golden Parachutes: Gives shareholders a say on pay with the right to a non-binding vote on executive pay and golden parachutes.

• Financial Literacy: Tools to help promote financial literacy to ensure that families take personal responsibility for their finances.

• Reducing Systematic Risks: Restrictions on banks to keep them from making risky loans that endanger the financial system.

• No More Risky Trades on the Banks Own Account: Tough new rules to prevent banks from engaging in risky proprietary trading (The Volker Rule).

• A New Consumer Hotline: Consumers will have, for the first time, a single toll-free number to report problems with financial products and services.

• Require Lenders Ensure a Borrower's Ability to Repay: Establishes a simple federal standard for all home loans: institutions must ensure that borrowers can repay the loans they are sold.

• Prohibits Unfair Lending Practices: Prohibits the financial incentives for subprime loans that encourage lenders to steer borrowers into more costly loans.

• Monitor Personal Financial Rating: Allows consumers free access to their credit score if their score negatively affects them in a financial transaction or a hiring decision. Gives consumers access to credit score disclosures as part of an adverse action and risk-based pricing notice.