Courtesy of Pam Martens
Senator John McCain
It’s not every day that one sees the names Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator John McCain as the leading co-sponsors on the same piece of legislation. But that’s exactly what happened on July 11, 2013, two years later on July 7, 2015, and again last year on April 6. Together with Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Angus King (I-Maine), the four last year re-introduced the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, an updated version of the Banking Act of 1933, which was also known as the Glass-Steagall Act.
Senator McCain passed away on August 25, without seeing the passage of the legislation.
If enacted, the legislation would separate traditional banks that hold deposits that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – and ultimately backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer – from the investment banks on Wall Street that underwrite securities and engage in high risk trading in stocks and derivatives. Glass-Steagall kept the U.S. banking system safe for 66 years until its repeal under the Bill Clinton administration in 1999. It took just nine years after the repeal for Wall Street to collapse in epic fashion and usher in the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Speaking about why he was co-sponsoring the legislation, Senator McCain made the following remarks on the Senate floor in 2013:
“Unfortunately, core provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act were repealed in 1999, shattering the wall dividing commercial banks and investment banks. Since that time, we have seen a culture of greed and excessive risk-taking take root in the banking world; where common sense and caution with other people’s money no longer matters.
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