Will Congressman Rehberg Stand With the Republican Establishment to Repeal Wall Street Reform?

Rehberg opposed Wall Street reform, will he stand with Republican establishment to repeal consumer protections, eliminate oversight

Helena, Mt. - Republican leaders tried to shield their allegiance to Wall Street this week by taking the first step to repeal Wall Street reform.  Congressman Dennis Rehberg stood with the Republican establishment to oppose bipartisan Wall Street reform last year.  Now, as a candidate for U.S. Senate, will Rehberg once again stand with the Republican establishment to repeal this legislation?

POLITICO reported Wednesday that Republican leaders “quietly took their first legislative step Wednesday at repealing Wall Street reform.” In the House, Republicans introduced five bills aimed at stripping Wall Street reform of its ability to protect consumers from Wall Street excess. The Washington Post reported that repeal of Wall street reform “could provide another chance to draw a very clear contrast between the parties — on turf that may be a bit more favorable to Dems.”

“Congressman Rehberg’s voting record shows him to be a better representative of Wall Street than Montana,” said Ted Dick, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Montanans want to know if Rehberg will side with his Washington DC party bosses to repeal Wall Street reform. Come to think of it, his cronies on Wall Street are watching too.  The only question is, whose side is Dennis on?”

Rehberg's opponent, Senator Jon Tester has become known as a key advocate for Main Street in the Democratic party, having opposed the Wall Street bailout, led the fight to end credit card abuses and supported the new Wall Street reform legislation that Rehberg seeks to undo.

House Republicans Moved to Repeal Key Portions of Financial Regulatory Reform. On Wednesday, House Republicans quietly introduced the first five bills aimed at taking down key portions of Wall Street reform at a sparsely-attended Financial Services subcommittee hearing. According to Politico, “Republicans clearly want to strike at the heart of banking reform with legislation attacking new regulations on derivatives, credit rating agencies and private equity firms.” [Politico, 3/17/11]

Rehberg Voted Against Wall Street Reform. On June 30, 2010, Rehberg voted against the conference report on the bill that would overhaul the regulation of the financial services industry. The measure would create new regulatory mechanisms to assess risks posed by very large financial institutions and facilitate the orderly dissolution of failing firms that pose a threat to the economy. [Vote 413, 6/30/10]