{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/wall-street-runs-washington-sanders-says-in-proposing-to-break-up-big-banks-", "Wall Street Runs Washington, Sanders Says in Proposing to Break Up Big Banks", "2014-12-13", "2014", "2014-12", "Independent", "House", "VT", "Bernard Sanders", "S000033", "www.sanders.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 \u2013 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he will introduce legislation to break up Wall Street megabanks that are using a bill before the Senate today to put taxpayers on the hook for the banks\u2019 risky investments.\r\nSanders outlined the proposal as the Senate, in a rare Saturday session, prepared to take up a House-passed bill that would roll back a law limiting risky investments like those that caused the financial crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed.\r\n\u201cOver the last several days, it has become abundantly clear that Congress does not regulate Wall Street but Wall Street regulates Congress.\u00a0 If Wall Street lobbyists can literally write a provision into law that will allow too-big-to-fail banks to make the same risky bets that nearly destroyed our economy just a few years ago, it should be obvious to all that their incredible economic and political power is a huge danger to our economy and our way of life,\u201d Sanders said.\r\nLobbyists for Citigroup drafted the measure and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly called congressmen to lobby for the provision that would gut a key provision of Dodd-Frank, the Wall Street reform law passed in 2010.\r\n\u201cEnough is enough,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cToday, almost all of the too-big-to-fail banks are bigger and even more powerful than they were before we bailed them out. The six largest financial institutions have over $9.8 trillion in assets \u2014 the equivalent of more than 60 percent of GDP.\u00a0 They issue over half of the mortgages and more than two-thirds of the credit cards in America.\r\n\u201cIf Congress cannot regulate Wall Street, there is just one alternative.\u00a0 It is time to break these too-big-to-fail banks up so that they can never again destroy the jobs, homes, and life savings of the American people.\r\n\u201cAt the beginning of the new Congress, I will be introducing legislation that will break these behemoth banks up once and for all. If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist.\u00a0 I look forward to working with both progressive and conservative Senators who have the courage to stand up to Wall Street and protect the working families of this country,\u201d Sanders said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/wall-street-runs-washington-sanders-says-in-proposing-to-break-up-big-banks-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3363480102270842, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}