Statement by Nancy Zirkin on Final House Passage of Wall Street Reform Legislation

“The House’s passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill represents a huge step forward in the fight to protect Americans from Wall Street’s recklessness.

The need for this bill couldn’t be more obvious. Years of deregulation have resulted in a financial system that privatized the gains and socialized the losses. The Dodd-Frank bill will help end Wall Street’s reckless practices, and includes a number of common-sense provisions that civil rights, consumer, and labor advocates have sought for years – like requiring lenders to make sure that borrowers can repay their mortgages and creating a consumer regulator to do the job that Wall Street regulators didn’t do.

For years, Wall Street has operated like a casino for the benefit of a greedy few. It’s time to padlock the casino doors. The civil and human rights coalition strongly supports the conference report, and we look forward to getting it through the Senate and enacted into law.”