Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement regarding the hearing held by the House Committee on Financial Services today with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
“Today’s hearing with the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission highlighted the findings of their report, reminding us that that the financial crisis—the $11 trillion in lost savings, eviscerated retirement accounts, lost homes, and catastrophic impact across the entire economy— was avoidable, and that the measures enacted in Wall Street Reform are essential to preventing another crisis. We’ve clamped down on policies that encourage unnecessary risk-taking, improved supervision and regulation of financial activities that have the potential to harm the entire economy, addressed the over-reliance on credit rating agencies, and established stronger protections for consumers. In short, Dodd-Frank tackled the greatest culprits of the financial collapse.
"But it would be presumptuous and irresponsible for us to assume that we could ever fully dissect and protect against the extraordinary and intertwined set of factors that caused this crisis in an industry of unparalleled complexity. Supervision of this sector will always be an ongoing process. Most immediately, I look forward to continuing this work to reform housing finance in a way that both protects American taxpayers and allow for appropriate credit availability.”