Yesterday the Senate Budget Committee had what could be considered a test vote on breaking up big banks. It was a Sanders amendment to the budget resolution, which received signficant, and surprising, support.
The legislative language was complex, but the vote was understood as a simple question: Should big banks be broken up so that they no longer pose a risk to the financial system?
Eight Democrats and one Republican joined Sanders, but the measure failed by a 12-10 vote. Four Democrats opposed the amendment, standing with the big banks: Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (N.D.), Bill Nelson (D-N.D.) [sic, FL], Mark Begich (Alaska) and Mark Warner (Va.)....
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) was the lone Republican to join the Democrats in support: Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (Oregon), Russ Feingold (Wisc.), Bob Byrd (W.Va.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Ben Cardin (Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon)....
The split along party lines is telling, as the GOP has been hammering Democrats for pushing a bill they say would lead to "permanent taxpayer bailouts." The only way to end bailouts, say economists, is to eliminate the existence of big banks that would need to be bailed out if they got into trouble in order to protect the soundness of the system as a whole. For the GOP to stand in lockstep opposition to breaking up the banks -- with the exception of black sheep Bunning -- makes it harder for them to make their case against Democrats.
Wall Street megabanks that are "too big to fail" continue to pose a serious threat to our economy. Not only are they too big to fail, but as FDIC Chairman Bill Isaac says, they are "too big to manage, and too big to regulate." The solution? The Brown-Kaufman SAFE Banking Act (read the fact sheet here). The vote yesterday on the Sanders' amendment in the budget committee shows that there is signficant support for this critical reform.
Now the challenge will be getting that vote in the full Senate. Reid and Dodd need to allow this amendment. They'll be more likely to do so if it has strong support in the caucus. You can help build that support, and it's easy. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has a petition you can sign to support, and once you do, it gives you the phone numbers for your senators, and a quick script to use to make the call.
If you need more ammunition, watch this.
And read about the $1.6 million campaign to kill financial reform.
