Hi,
In 2018, Congress passed and Donald Trump signed a banking deregulation
bill that we, along with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (and many
others!), warned would set us up for another banking meltdown and
bailout.^1,2,3
Now it’s happening, with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank melting
down and fears growing about wider systemic collapse — and we’re demanding
that Congress restore and strengthen the banking regulations that they
idiotically removed less than 10 years after the 2008 financial crisis.
But, believe it or not, the same Wall Street lobbyists who convinced
Congress to pass Trump’s bank deregulation bill in 2018 are swarming
Capitol Hill again, fighting against any new regulations, promising this
won’t happen again.
Enough is enough. We mobilized over 100,000 people in 2018 in opposition
to the bill allowing banks to run amok, but we need even more people to
speak out now.
[ [link removed] ]Will you make a donation and help pressure Congress to restore and
strengthen the banking regulations rolled back during the Trump
administration and enact other key reforms?
[ [link removed] ]Donate $10
[ [link removed] ]Donate $20
[ [link removed] ]Donate $40
[ [link removed] ]Or, donate another amount
Elizabeth Warren wrote in The New York Times on Monday, “No one should be
mistaken about what unfolded over the past few days in the U.S. banking
system: These recent bank failures are the direct result of leaders in
Washington weakening the financial rules.”^4
She’s right.
Before the 2018 deregulation bill, banks like Silicon Valley Bank and
Signature Bank were required to maintain enough cash on hand to absorb
losses and to undergo regular stress tests to ensure their stability.
These are the exact measures that were needed to prevent the collapse
we’re seeing now.^5
Silicon Valley Bank’s CEO was one of the people who lobbied hardest to
eliminate the regulations that would have saved his bank.^6 But he was
just too damn greedy.
At minimum, Congress should repeal the 2018 deregulation bill and restore
the protections before any other banks go down. In addition, Congress and
regulators should strengthen federal deposit insurance and hold the
executives at these banks accountable by clawing back their millions of
dollars in ill-gotten salaries and bonuses.
How many times will we allow big banks to rip off taxpayers and avoid
accountability? Never again. Now’s the time to pressure Congress to act.
[ [link removed] ]Will you donate $10 to Demand Progress Action and support
our work, including demanding that Congress repeal the 2018 banking
deregulation bill?
With gratitude for all that you do,
Tihi and the team at Demand Progress Action
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. Demand Progress, "Tell Chuck Schumer: RESIST, don't assist. Stop
Trump’s Wall Street giveaway.," [ [link removed] ]March 8, 2018.
2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, "Senator Warren Calls on Senate to Reject Bank
Lobbyist Act," [ [link removed] ]March 14, 2018.
3. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders via Facebook, "The Bank Lobbyist Act,"
[ [link removed] ]March 6, 2018.
4. The New York Times, "Elizabeth Warren: Silicon Valley Bank Is Gone. We
Know Who Is Responsible.," [ [link removed] ]March 13, 2023.
5. Vox, "A 2018 banking law paved the way for Silicon Valley Bank’s
collapse," [ [link removed] ]March 13, 2023.
6. GovInfo.gov, "Examining the Regulatory Regime for Regional Banks,"
[ [link removed] ]March 24, 2015.
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