The GOP has put more energy into filibustering reform than it has spent legislating all year. Friends of Wall Street are gearing up to use their favorite maneuver again tonight, this time to block action on the Senate’s Wall Street reform bill. But opponents of reform have it wrong if they think the public will stand for the status quo instead of a real overhaul of Wall Street regulation. Consumer Watchdog joined our 250+ coalition partners at Americans for Financial Reform to call for an end to using the filibuster (time
to get rid of it entirely) to block financial reform.  

The letter sent today: 

The undersigned organizations urge all members of the United States Senate to allow the American people a full and fair debate in Congress about how – and whether – to hold Wall Street banks accountable for the financial crisis that has cost this country 8 million jobs.
 
It has been nearly two years since the taxpayers were forced to bail out the big banks, whose reckless gambling brought them to the brink of ruin and almost took down the world financial system. Since then, Congress has had ample time to explore policy changes that would ensure this never happens again.
 
If policy differences still exist, now is the time to work them out in the public arena, and then vote. A filibuster would rob the taxpayers of their right to know what their elected representatives truly believe and support when the proverbial chips are down. The American people have made clear that they want the Wall Street banks held accountable. They deserve an up-or-down vote and to know who is really on their side.