Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Financial Services Committee’s work to overhaul our financial system. 

In Rhode Island, predatory lending and unregulated mortgage brokers led to unsustainable home loans and a drain on our economy. 

Now, with unemployment at 13 percent, my constituents, like many others around the country, have had no other choice but to turn to credit cards to support their families and small businesses.  These struggling Rhode Islanders are subjected to the deceptive practices of credit card companies greedily generating more profit before new regulations go into effect.  These practices include raising minimum payment amounts and interest rates, decreasing limits, and closing accounts without proper notification.

For these reasons, and many more, consumer protection must be the cornerstone of financial reform.  Further, we must restore accountability and transparency at financial institutions, and eliminate risks that contributed to the financial collapse.

I look forward to voting on legislation which will address past failures, strengthen regulation and oversight and put our country on a path to economic stability.