Larsen Stands With Families & Small Businesses by Supporting Wall Street Reform; Koster Stands With Status Quo

Everett, WA - Today, Rep. Rick Larsen was present at the signing of legislation permanently ending the era of Too Big To Fail and creating common sense regulations for Wall Street that provide unprecedented protections for families and small businesses in Northwest Washington.

“Giving Wall Street Reform the force of law is a critical moment for everyone in Northwest Washington who thinks financial security for families and small businesses should come before bailouts and bonuses for the big banks on Wall Street,” Brooke Davis, Spokesperson for Congressman Larsen said. “Rick Larsen thinks this is a badly needed step forward, John Koster thinks things are working just fine.”

Koster’s silence puts him firmly in support of a status quo supported by his Party’s leadership, an ideological position that helped create the worst economic crisis since the great Depression. Consider:

• Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), the Republican who guides the GOP agenda in Washington, DC, called for the legislation’s repeal before it was even voted on;
• Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), Chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), a group that has featured Koster’s candidacy in their “Young Guns” program, has vehemently spoken in opposition to Wall Street reform.
• Every Member of Congress who has endorsed Koster voted against the legislation: Reps. Reichert (R-WA), Hastings (R-WA), Culberson (R-TX), McCarthy (R-CA), and Walden (R-OR);
• Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Koster’s most high profile endorsement, said, “Government should not burden the market with unnecessary bureaucracy and distorted incentives, nor make a dangerous ‘Too-Big-To-Fail’ mentality the law of the land.”; and
• The legislation is opposed by Dino Rossi and his two most prominent Republican rivals in the GOP primary for Washington’s Senate seat.

Nearly 100,000 people in Northwest Washington lost their homes or retirement savings because big Wall Street banks played with their futures by selling risky financial products. Small businesses have been forced to shut their doors because these big banks put big profits and big bonuses before fiscal sanity.

“For voters looking for a clear choice this November, today presents a stark contrast,” Davis said. “Rick Larsen stood with hardworking families and small businesses who need help because Wall Street has gotten away with too much for too long, and his opponent stood silent.”

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