PRESS RELEASE
Senator Harkin Introduces S. 985
To Reinstate Glass-Steagall
May 17, 2013 (EIRNS)—This release was issued today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee.
Yesterday, on the 80th anniversary of the introduction of the original 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Ia.) introduced Senate Bill 985 to reinstate Glass-Steagall. While the full text of the Harkin bill has not yet been posted by the Library of Congress, the fact that there is now a Senate bill to reinstate full separation of commercial banking from all other brokerage and speculative activities is a dramatic development. The fight for Glass-Steagall has now moved to a new level.
The introduction of S. 985 came the same day that the 20th state legislature introduced a resolution urging its Congressional delegation to support Glass-Steagall reinstatement. This week, both Delaware and Illinois introduced such resolutions. In addition, the Regional Council of the Tuscany Region of Italy passed a resolution calling for "Banking and Legal Reform According to the Glass-Steagall Act."
In the House of Representatives, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Oh.) has already introduced H.R. 129 to reinstate Glass Steagall. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) was the initiating co-sponsor, and there are now 62 sponsors and co-sponsors on the House bill.
Lyndon LaRouche today congratulated Sen. Harkin for introducing S. 985 in spite of massive counter-pressure from the Obama White House and the Senate leadership. LaRouche declared:
"This is a very important new development. It will have very significant impact for very obvious reasons. All of the efforts to suppress this action have been defeated. This is a new game. The agenda has changed. Despite all of the efforts to prevent this action, Senator Harkin has taken the initiative. This is not yet a complete victory, but it shows that the situation is not as hopeless as the Senate Leader had hoped."
