Press Release

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Calls On Congress To Preserve Dodd-Frank Anti-Bailout Provision

At the request of too-big-to-fail banks, the Republican leadership is trying to sneak a provision into a last-minute deal to fund the government that will make it easier for too-big-to-fail banks to put taxpayers on the hook for their risky speculation in toxic derivatives.

We call on members of Congress of both parties who are opposed to too-big-to-fail to stand up to Wall Street and to this harmful roll-back of a critical anti-bailout provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Dodd-Frank forced too-big-to-fail banks to move potentially toxic speculation in derivatives out of their government-insured banks. Wall Street’s friends in Congress are trying to once again put the public on the hook for the most dangerous aspects of the financial system.

Working people were profoundly harmed by the 2008 financial crisis and its continuing aftermath of mass unemployment, falling wages, the mass eviction of working people from their homes, and reduced public investment.  Derivatives were at the center of the crisis – turning a painful decline in home prices into an international financial crisis that still plagues our economy.

The AFL-CIO strongly opposes efforts to make it easier for too-big-to-fail banks to use taxpayer-backed funds to make risky bets in the derivatives markets.

Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018