Standing up to Wall Street

Senator Ron Wyden has taken on Wall Street, and is fighting for financial reforms to end taxpayer and consumer ripoffs.

Fought the Wall Street Bailout

Senator Wyden has fought the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. First their greed led Wall Street executives to gamble with money they didn't have on foolish, risky investments. When those investments fell through, they came to the federal government looking for a handout because they were "too big to fail."

Senator Wyden said no to the bailout not just once, but twice. First, he rejected President Bush's request for $350 billion. Then when President Obama came looking for $350 billion more for Wall Street banks, he again put his nation and fiscal responsibility ahead of party politics and voted "no."

"The bailout package provides help to large institutional investors who took foolish risks," said Senator Wyden. "Rather than extending assistance to get credit flowing at appropriate levels again to shore up confidence in our markets, it is likely that much of this money will go to those who don't deserve a taxpayer bailout for their miscalculations. Wealthy investors, who ought to know better, shouldn’t be allowed to gamble with taxpayer money."

Blew the Whistle on Wall Street Bonuses Using Federal Tax Dollars

When Wall Street executives took millions in bonuses using federal tax bailout dollars, Senator Wyden took a stand. He brought together Democrats and Republicans to oppose this practice, introducing the Compensation Fairness Act of 2009. The legislation sought to impose a severe excise tax on individuals who received bonuses from taxpayer-funded bailout money.

"Getting bailed out by the American taxpayer was more than enough of a bonus for these companies and individuals," said Wyden.

Fighting to Stop Credit Card Rip-offs

In 2007, Senator Wyden joined with then-Senator Barack Obama to introduce critical legislation to provide consumers protection against high-risk credit cards. The legislation would give each credit card in America a rating of one to five stars - based on the risk to the consumer. The system would give consumers a way to judge the riskiness of a credit card offer without having to plow through all that fine print.

"These credit card debts are hitting Oregon families like a wrecking ball," said Senator Wyden. "With the financial future of so many Americans dependent upon unreadable jargon in credit card documents, arming consumers with usable information is more critical than ever."

Photo by Fletcher6.