BETHLEHEM, PA – Congressional candidate John Callahan is calling on Congressman Dent, once again, to tell voters where he stands on the Wall Street reform bill in the Senate. In December 2009, Congressman Dent voted against the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act[1]. Now, as another critical deadline approaches, he is refusing to take a stand on the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.
“Over eight million Americans lost their jobs in large part because George Bush and career politicians like Charlie Dent refused to stand up to Wall Street in 2008,” said Mayor John Callahan. “Now Charlie has another chance. 23 days ago, I called on Congressman Dent to join me in supporting the Restoring American Financial Stability Act to reform Wall Street and ensure that taxpayers aren’t left paying for another bailout. Dent still refuses to tell voters where he stands on this bill. Will Charlie vote for banking reforms or will he once again side with his Wall Street contributors?”
Background:
• Over 5,000 jobs have been created under Mayor John Callahan since he took office in 2004.
• Charlie Dent has taken over $286,000 from Commercial Banking and Securities & Investment Industry Special Interests[2].
• In 2008, Congressman Dent stood on the sidelines while the irresponsible behavior of big banks and lenders on Wall Street drove our economy into the worst recession since the 1930s. The irresponsible behavior on Wall Street was the principle cause that led to this loss of over 8 million American jobs nationwide.
• In the aftermath of the Wall Street meltdown, Congressman Dent voted for the $850 Bush Banking Bailout[3]. This banking bailout bill had so little oversight that failed AIG CEOs were able to use taxpayer money for multimillion-dollar bonuses[4]. In fact, when given the opportunity to vote to prevent future taxpayer funded bonuses, Charlie Dent again voted for Wall Street CEOs[5].
• Then on December 11, 2009, Charlie Dent voted against the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009[6], a bill to put common sense reforms in place on Wall Street to stop their irresponsible behavior from causing another job killing recession.
• Now, as the Senate prepares to send the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 to the House, Charlie Dent will have another chance to stand up for the people in the Lehigh Valley rather than siding with his Wall Street contributors.
The question is, will Congressman Dent take a stand?
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