A Dodd-Frank Retreat Deserves a Veto - "Too many Americans are still suffering..." (Geithner Op-Ed) [View All]

A Dodd-Frank Retreat Deserves a Veto

Only six congressional Republicans crossed the aisle to support reform one year ago. The GOP is still working to thwart change..Article Comments (80) more in

By TIMOTHY GEITHNER

Two and a half years ago, with our country on the edge of a second Great Depression, we met with the president in the White House to discuss whether to move in those first months of his administration to legislate fundamental reform of the financial system—or wait until we had put the crisis behind us.

The president made two key decisions. First, he chose to move forward, knowing that the forces of opposition to reform would grow stronger as the memory of the crisis receded. And second, he asked us to write draft legislation rather than propose broad principles. The president did not want the new rules to end up being written by those who brought us to the edge of catastrophic financial failure.

In June 2009, the administration submitted to Congress a proposal that would fundamentally reshape the financial system. It was designed to lay a stronger foundation for innovation, economic growth and job creation with robust protections for consumers and investors and tough constraints on risk-taking. We drew on ideas and insights from reform-oriented thinkers across the political spectrum.

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We will not let that happen. Too many Americans are still suffering from the pain of the financial crisis. We owe them a financial system with better protections against abuse and catastrophic risk. As secretary of the Treasury, I will recommend that the president veto any legislation passed by Congress that would undermine these vital financial protections.

Mr. Geithner is the U.S. secretary of the Treasury

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