Senator Elizabeth Warren [D-MA]: We weren't sent to help the bandits

Systematic fraud on Wall Street helped spark a financial crisis in 2008 that cost millions of Americans their jobs and their homes.   But federal prosecutors didn’t put a single Wall Street executive in jail. Not one. Instead, spineless regulators told them to pay a fine and asked them nicely not to do it again. It turned into a “get out of jail free” card for the big banks that break the law. You’d think the big banks would be happy with an enforcement system that is so tepid that they could bake fines into the cost of doing business instead of going to jail. But nope, the banks are demanding even less oversight. This week, Wall Street’s buddies in Congress are lining up behind a bill to make it harder to prosecute bank fraud. You heard that right: the House of Representatives will be voting on a bill that will make it harder to investigate and prosecute bank fraud. Tell the House of Representatives that they work for the American people – not Wall Street banks that break the law. Vote NO on the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act. It’s been more that seven years since the financial crisis. A lot of people in Washington may want to forget, but the American people have long memories. We remember how corporate fraud caused millions of families to lose their homes, their jobs, and their pensions. We also remember who made out like bandits – and the American people didn’t send us here to help the bandits. The American people expect better from us. They expect us to protect the financial system and to hold Wall Street executives accountable. Wall Street and their Washington friends don’t think you’re paying attention to what’s going on in Congress this week. They don’t think you’ll care about a complicated, jargon-filled bill that will weaken the rules for corporate criminals. Let’s show Wall Street that the American people are watching – and we want tougher enforcement on banks that break the law, not weaker. Tell Congress to vote NO on Financial Institution Customer Protection Act this week. Thank you for being a part of this, Elizabeth