0:40:09 to 0:40:31( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: quorum call: the pr senator from vermont mr. sanders: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. sanders: madam president, as i think all americans understand, there is a huge sense of outrage today at what wall street has de through their greed, through their

0:40:32 to 0:40:52( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: recklessness and perhaps i behavior in plunging this nation and, in fact, the world into a deep recession which has caused the loss of millions and millions of jobs, had an extraordinarily negative impact on so many peoples' lives in terms of their savings and in

0:41:14 to 0:41:34( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: people who are all of this we mustold them di di them accountable and it will be a test of the criminal justice system of this country if, in fact, we have the courage to say to the millionaires and billionaires, "the law applies to

0:41:58 to 0:42:22( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: we are providing hundreds of billions to bail out wall street, at a time when large banks are borrowing money from the fed at zero interest rates, the response of wall street has been to say, "thank you very much for all that and now we are

0:42:45 to 0:43:05( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: exorbitant and usury interest rates for the american people. what we are seeing now all over this country are millions of people who are suddenly receiving notices from these banks that say "by the way we're going to double or triple your interest rates o that is and that has got to end.

0:43:28 to 0:43:48( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: than what gangsters and loan shark artists do who break people's don't pay back but tse bankers where three piece shoots but at the same time they are destroying people's lives by charging 25% and 30% interest rates.

0:44:12 to 0:44:32( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: with the usury which is going on in this country? the reason we selected that number is because 15% is the same interest rate cap congress imposed on credit union loans almost 30 years ago when it amended the federal credit

0:44:55 to 0:45:18( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: dollars in bail intermediates. in fact, they're doing quite well. they are responding to credit needs of their small businesses in their communities and to individuals. they are doing well. they have survived and fliefd with this regulation. right now the national credit union administration imposes a

0:45:40 to 0:46:01( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: the safety and the soundness of lenders. so essentially all that we are saying today is that we have got to end the outrage by street and large credit card companies are ripping off the american people, and the solution that we are proposing

0:46:23 to 0:46:44( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: madam president, interestingly enough, the proposal that we are throwfg today is very similar to one that former senator al d'amato advocated for in 1991 when he offered an amendment to cap credit card interest rates. the d'amato amendment would have

0:47:08 to 0:47:30( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: hope -- or more support for my amendment todabecause the problem today actually is far more severe. so, madam president, i think that this is legislation that the american people want. i think the american people are sick and tired of being ripped off by wall street, especially when they are bailing out these

0:47:53 to 0:48:13( Edit History Discussion )

Bernard Sanders: given that reality, given fact that the middle class is hurting, it seems to me that if we are going to respond to the needs of the american people, we need to deal with the usury that's going on in this country. we need to cap interest rates, and i look forward very much to my colleagues supporting this legislation. thank you very much, and i yield the floor and note the absence