Democrats, led by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee garnered 154 “no” votes against H.R. 37, a controversial Republican package of 11 bills that will roll back certain portions of the Wall Street Reform Act. Last week, House Democrats defeated Republican efforts to fast track the same measure through a process known as suspension of the rules, by denying them the two-thirds vote they needed they need for passage.

She released the following statement.

“After failing to sneak this complex package of 11 bills though the House last week with limited debate and no opportunity for amendments, today House Republicans made a second attempt at passage. The package includes harmful measures, such as a delay in the implementation of the important Volcker Rule as it relates to collateralized loan obligations until 2019. This provision, included at the behest of Wall Street’s biggest banks, and under the guise of ‘helping small businesses,’ weakens taxpayer protections against risky Wall Street practices, and does nothing to address the needs of hardworking Americans on Main Street.

I’m pleased that Democrats overwhelmingly opposed this package, garnering enough opposition to ensure we are able to sustain President Obama’s veto, should it reach his desk. The widespread Democratic opposition to this measure is a clear indication that our members are becoming more informed about the Republican strategy to ultimately dismantle Wall Street reform legislation, and the need to protect taxpayers from risky trading and gambling by banks.”

Waters also led Democratic opposition on the House floor late last night.

The legislation contains harmful provisions that undermine Dodd-Frank, which was passed in response to the worst financial crisis in a generation. These include a newly introduced measure that provides an additional two-year delay for a type of risky financial instrument, collateralized loan obligations, from the Volcker Rule, a cornerstone of Dodd-Frank that prohibits large banks from gambling with taxpayer-backed funds. The measure pushes back the deadline for banks to divest CLOs until 2019, nearly a decade after Dodd-Frank was enacted. The package also contains a harmful provision that restricts the amount of information a private company must provide to an employee that receives compensation in the form of stock, which denies our nation’s workers the right to understand how much their compensation is worth – and the risks associated with it.

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