Senator Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., joined U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, in Philadelphia Thursday to condemn Pat Toomey's fiscal policies.

Sestak and Toomey are seeking the seat of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in the fall.
Toomey helped draft a 1999 provision that broke down the wall between commercial banks
and investment firms, which Dorgan warned would not end well.
"I think we will look back in 10 years' time and say we should not have done this, but we did because we forgot the lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930s is true in 2010," said Dorgan at the time. "We have now decided in the name of modernization to forget the lessons of the past, of safety and of soundness."

A release on the event follows:
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), a longtime independent voice
in the Senate who predicted the dire consequences of creating "too big to
fail" banks and hazards of exposing commercial banks to the risky Wall
Street gambling, will campaign with Joe Sestak tomorrow.

<https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1222/images/Congressman%20Joe%20Sestak%20Discusses%20Financial%20Regulation%20with%20Senator%20Byron%20Dorgan.JPG >
"I am honored to have Senator Dorgan stand with me today," said Admiral
Sestak. "His independent pragmatic approach and his willingness to stand up
to both Wall Street and the political establishment are the definition of
responsible leadership. We need more people in the Senate will put middle
class Americans over Wall Street."

Senator Dorgan stood up to the establishment and sounded alarm bells during
the 1999 debate over modernizing the banking industry. In 1999, Dorgan
opposed the legislation that broke down the wall between commercial banks
and investment firms - a bill that Congressman Toomey help draft - which
allowed banks to engage in the risky practices that led to the recession.

At the time, Dorgan predicted that: "I think we will look back in 10 years'
time and say we should not have done this, but we did because we forgot the
lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930s is true in
2010. We have now decided in the name of modernization to forget the lessons
of the past, of safety and of soundness." [New
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=oih3qJdbHv5B7RajN0h1ctHVC2xD72Vb > York Times, 11/05/99]

Click
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5MKAYEEB%2FBKbXRsBmSfo7KPuYxcoFoey > here to see Senator Dorgan speak on the floor against the
legislation.

Over the course of his three terms, Senator Dorgan has received praise from
both sides of the aisle for his advocacy for strong fiscal policies,
including ensuring that corporations do not gamble with America's financial
future.

After the collapse, Congressman Toomey continued to push for deregulatory
steps like the 1999 legislation, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act.
According to the Scranton Times Tribune: "Mr. Toomey also said he would
continue to generally favor deregulation of the nation's financial markets,
despite a collapse that many blame on a failure of regulation." [Scranton
Times Tribune, 4/16/09].

<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=aM6U6evWOdXcYhrELrVmIaPuYxcoFoey >
Click here to see Toomey speak in favor of deregulation.

Congressman Toomey's Long History of Deregulation

* Congressman Toomey opposed the recent Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act bill to repair the system. The bill aimed to put an
end to "too big to fail," provide greater transparency and accountability
for over-the-counter derivatives, protect consumers and give shareholders a
say on bonuses. [Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, HR 4173,
passed 12/11/09]
* Congressman Toomey helped write the legislation that broke down the
wall between commercial banks and investment firms, allowing commercial
banks - where the majority of Americans go to protect their savings - to
engage in the risky activities previously limited to investment banks. [HR
10 Gramm-Leach-Bliley/Financial Services Modernization Act, enacted
11/12/99]
* Congressman Toomey himself wrote in his book The Road to Prosperity
that: "Major deregulation was another part of the expansion of economic
freedom that enabled strong growth." [pg. 41]
* Congressman Toomey voted for legislation which deregulated
derivative trading and allowed Wall Street firms to increase the kind of
risk-taking which led to the economic crisis. [Commodities Futures
Modernization Act, HR 4541, #540, 10/19/2000]
* After the collapse, Congressman Toomey said he continues to favor
deregulation of financial markets. According to The Scranton Times Tribune:
"Mr. Toomey also said he would continue to generally favor deregulation of
the nation's financial markets, despite a collapse that many blame on a
failure of regulation." [Scranton Times Tribune, 4/16/09]


What Others Have Said About Deregulation

* "Deregulation has not worked. Unfettered markets may produce big
bonuses for CEOs, but they do not lead, as if by an invisible hand, to
societal well-being. Until we achieve a better balance between markets and
government, the world will continue to pay a high price." - Joseph E.
Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in economics and chairman of President Clinton's
Council of Economic Advisers [Project
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FT4ATTFz1nprAf2BVMiy9aPuYxcoFoey > Sydicate, 2/01/08]
* ". deregulation in effect gave the [savings and loan] industry -
whose deposits were federally insured - a license to gamble with taxpayers'
money, at best, or simply to loot it, at worst." - Paul Krugman, Nobel
Laureate in economics and professor at Princeton University [New
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5a%2B3ay3saQhVgTiHQUd0k6PuYxcoFoey > York Times, 6/01/2009]
* "The assumption has been markets know best, and when they don't
civil lawsuits and government prosecutions will deter wrongdoing. Wrong.
When shareholders demand the highest returns possible and executive pay is
linked to stock performance, many companies will do whatever necessary to
squeeze out added profits." - Robert Reich, former labor secretary under
President Clinton and professor of public policy at the University of
California at Berkeley [Christian
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=nS1VkZ%2Bd3zXc1OmFPUqnAKPuYxcoFoey > Science Monitor, 5/04/10]
* American International Group "neither hedged nor provided adequate
capital against the large, correlated risks that it was taking. AIG's
actions were facilitated by gaps in prudential regulation . The consequences
for the broader system were so severe because AIG was a large financial firm
closely interlinked with other systemically important financial institutions
and markets." - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke [Congressional
<http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5FeNN%2FyKOmBWavz6M0T50BcnXjTe6iT0 > Testimony, 09/02/10].