Peterson praises Wall Street reform law

(WASHINGTON, DC)—Congressman Collin Peterson today applauded President Obama for signing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The bill will help hold Wall Street accountable, end taxpayer funded bailouts, and restore confidence in our financial system. Congressman Peterson voted for the Wall Street Reform bill when it passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I voted yes to holding Wall Street accountable,” Peterson said. “This bill will end the ‘too-big-to-fail’ bailouts and reign in the unregulated derivatives trading that got way out of hand.”

Peterson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, was instrumental in writing the provisions of the bill that reign in the previously unregulated ‘over-the-counter’ derivative market, a market valued at $600 trillion. The derivatives market is blamed as one of the causes of the current financial crisis.

“The bill isn’t perfect, but it does fix a lot of the problems that got us into this mess,” Peterson said. “Mistakes were made, and I think we’ve got to hold Wall Street accountable for what happened. This bill is a good first step.”

Peterson attended the signing ceremony Wednesday at the White House with President Obama, saying, “This legislation reflects nearly three years of public debate and a lot of bipartisan work on derivatives and their effect on the economy.”

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