Mary Bottari's blog

The financial reform bill is now on the Senate floor. The bad news is that Senate leadership has not yet decided if critical amendments will see a vote. For instance, Sens. Sherrod Brown and Kaufman have not been assured of a vote on their amendment to cap the size of "too big to fail" banks. Is this a democracy or a dictatorship? Senators should be allowed a debate on their measures followed by a vote. Sign our petition in support of this amendment by clicking here.

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund advanced the discussion on why there have not been more criminal prosecutions of the Banksters large and small. Their researchers document that government agencies, specifically the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission have completely dropped the ball on criminal referrals to the Department of Justice for apparent fraudulent and criminal behavior.

The financial services reform bill is on the Senate floor this week. The recently announced criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs, the bumbling testimony of Goldman's "Fabulous Fab" and the rocking Wall Street protest last Thursday show that momentum is with reformers.

This bill could codify the "doom loop" of a "boom and bail" economy or it could set us on the path to a more sustainable future. The good news is that a group of Senators has stepped forward to champion a critical set of issues worth getting excited about. Send a message to your Senator in support of these "too big to fail" amendments at BanksterUSA.org

The financial industry front group with the deceptive name "Stop Too Big To Fail" (STBTF) is running a new TV ad in Virginia, Missouri and Nevada that tries to trick voters into opposing financial reform by claiming the bill before the Senate institutionalizes taxpayer-funded, big-bank bailouts.

As a consumer advocate and a military brat, I have long been a huge fan and a lifelong member of USAA. USAA is an insurance company that was set up to assist military families and their dependents. It has a reputation for low rates and great service, but I am disappointed in the firm this week for its clumsy foray into the world of lobbying.

If you didn't have time to watch the 10 hour long Goldman Sachs hearing yesterday, here are a few ways to catch up. Our friend Zach Carter did live blogging from the event which captures some interesting highlights. Click here to check it out. Simon Johnson also live blogged for PBS. Find the link here.

But nothing gives you a better flavor of the day, than Slate V's hip-hop remix of Senator Carl Levin's line of questioning and Goldman's weaving and dodging.

On Monday night, Senate Republicans lined up like lemurs and voted “no” on a motion to bring the Senate bank reform bill to the floor for a debate. Forty Republicans and one Democrat (Senator Ben Nelson D-Kansas) stood shoulder to shoulder with 1,500 bank lobbyists and said “no” to Wall Street financial reform. (Evidently, Nelson was displeased that his friend Warren Buffet did not get special treatment in the bill.)

The big banks shattered our economy and left workers and our communities to pick up the pieces. With bank reform on the Senate floor this week, it is a good time to take to the streets to demand real reform. Reform that breaks up the banks, restores depression-era protections against Wall Street gambling, reins in economic weapons of mass destruction and protects consumers.

SIGN THE BANKSTER PETITION TODAY AT BANKSTERUSA.ORG.

President Obama’s chief economic advisor, Larry Summers, was interviewed on PBS late last week about the state of play on financial reform. In an odd, shifty-eyed discussion, Summers admits “mistakes were made,” but none by him.

The financial services reform bill will be debated in the Senate next week. The great test for the bill will be what it does to rein in Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street institution famously described by Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi as “a vampire squid jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”