2016 -- H 8028

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LC005617

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING CONGRESS TO RE-ENACT PROVISIONS OF THE

GLASS-STEAGALL BANKING ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Palangio, Amore, Maldonado, Carson, and Ajello

     Date Introduced: April 01, 2016

     Referred To: House Corporations

     WHEREAS, From 1933 to 1999 the Federal Building Banking Act of 1933, known as

the Glass-Steagall Act, worked effectively to protect the public interest by separating the

functions of commercial banking from investment banking, insurance, and securities trading; and

     WHEREAS, The Glass-Steagall Act was repealed in 1999, expanding the ability of

financial entities to exploit the financial system for their own gain in disregard of the public

interest, and contributing to the greatest speculative bubble and subsequent worldwide economic

distress since the Great Depression; and

     WHEREAS, Many of the financial services entities were saved by the United States

Treasury at a cost of billions of dollars to American taxpayers; and

     WHEREAS, The Federal Reserve has issued several trillion dollars through 2014 to the

"too big to fail" Wall Street banks, to buy their devalued derivatives securities; and these banks

have used the money to increase their speculation in financial derivatives, which has resulted in a

net decrease in real lending to businesses, state, and city projects, and only now is approaching

levels of seven years ago; and

     WHEREAS, Within the thousands of pages of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act,

there are no prohibitions preventing "too big to fail" financial services organizations from

investing in or undertaking substantial risks in hundreds of trillions of dollars of derivative

contracts; and

     WHEREAS, A new set of financial bubbles are in full swing, and the American taxpayers

are at renewed risk of being forced to cover for losses incurred by derivatives gambling of the

financial services conglomerates; and

     WHEREAS, Re-enactment of the Glass-Steagall provisions would protect the public

from these bail-out costs, and free credit resources to be directed into large-scale infrastructure

and other physical economic investments, with attendant restoration of skilled employment and

the tax base; and

     WHEREAS, Bi-partisan resolutions urging the United States Congress to re-enact the

Glass-Steagall banking provisions have been introduced into 27 state legislatures as of December

2014, and these resolutions have passed by large majorities in four states thus far; and

     WHEREAS, A bill to restore the Glass-Steagall framework, H.R. 129, was introduced

into the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and had 81 bipartisan

co-sponsors; and a similar bipartisan bill, the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, was introduced into

the Senate, S. 1282, by Senators Warren, McCain, King, and Cantwell with 6 other co-sponsors;

and a companion bipartisan bill in the House, H.R. 3711, introduced by Representatives Tierney

and Jones, had 11 other co-sponsors; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to enact Glass-

Steagall inspired legislation, and prohibit commercial banks and bank holding companies from

investing in stocks, underwriting securities, or investing in or acting as guarantors to derivatives

transactions; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is directed and authorized to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the presiding

officers of each house of Congress, and each member of the State of Rhode Island Congressional

Delegation.

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LC005617

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