Senate Resolution 1 - Introduced SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1 BY PETERSEN A Resolution urging the United States Congress and the 1 President of the United States to enact legislation 2 that would reinstate the separation of commercial 3 and investment banking functions previously in 4 effect under the federal Glass-Steagall Act. 5 WHEREAS, an effective money and banking system is 6 essential to the functioning of the United States 7 economy; and 8 WHEREAS, such a system must function in the public 9 interest without any bias; and 10 WHEREAS, since 1933, the federal Banking Act, also 11 referred to as the Glass-Steagall Act, protected the 12 public interest in matters dealing with the regulation 13 of commercial and investment banking, in addition to 14 insurance companies and securities; and 15 WHEREAS, the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed 16 in 1999, partially contributing to the greatest 17 speculative bubble and worldwide recession since the 18 Great Depression of 1933; and 19 WHEREAS, the worldwide recession has left millions 20 of homes in foreclosure and caused the loss of millions 21 of jobs in the United States; and 22 WHEREAS, the worldwide recession has put severe 23 financial strain on states, counties, and cities, 24 exacerbating unemployment and the loss of public 25 services; and 26 WHEREAS, the United States Congress has been making 27 efforts with bipartisan support to reinstate the 28 -1- LSB 1659XS (2) 87 gh/rn/rj 1/ 3
S.R. 1 protections of the Glass-Steagall Act; and 1 WHEREAS, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur introduced H.R. 2 381, known as the Return to Prudent Banking Act of 3 2015, and Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced S. 1709, 4 known as the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act of 2015, 5 that would reinstate the separation between commercial 6 banking and the securities business in the manner 7 provided in the Glass-Steagall Act; and 8 WHEREAS, resolutions demanding action to reinstate 9 the protections of the Glass-Steagall Act have been 10 introduced in many states since 2013; and 11 WHEREAS, reinstatement of the protections of the 12 Glass-Steagall Act has support from national labor 13 organizations, economic and business leaders, and 14 newspaper publications; NOW THEREFORE, 15 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Iowa Senate 16 urges the United States Congress and the President 17 of the United States to enact legislation that would 18 reinstate the separation of commercial and investment 19 banking functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall 20 Act and that would prohibit commercial banks and 21 bank holding companies from investing in stocks, 22 underwriting securities, or investing in or acting 23 as guarantors to derivative transactions, in order 24 to prevent American taxpayers from being called upon 25 to fund hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out 26 financial institutions; and 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of 28 the Senate shall transmit certified copies of this 29 Senate Resolution to the President of the United 30 -2- LSB 1659XS (2) 87 gh/rn/rj 2/ 3
S.R. 1 States, the President of the United States Senate, the 1 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 2 United States Senator Elizabeth Warren, United States 3 Representative Marcy Kaptur, and to the members of the 4 Iowa congressional delegation. 5 -3- LSB 1659XS (2) 87 gh/rn/rj 3/ 3