Statement on Senate Vote to Advance the Bank Lobbyist Act, S.2155

Statement attributable to Kurt Walters, campaign director at Demand Progress's grassroots anti-corruption wing, Rootstrikers:

"Today, 17 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus joined the GOP to vote for more bank bailouts, racial discrimination in lending, and deregulating foreign megabanks.

"Voters have seen this movie before. It didn't work out in 2008 and it's no wiser today. There is simply no excuse for a Democrat to add their name to Wall Street deregulation.

"The members of the Bailout Caucus who voted to move this bill forward have sent a clear message: I work for my bank donors, not my constituents."

Rootstrikers has been a centerpiece to grassroots activism efforts against the Bank Lobbyist Act and branding its supporters as the #BailoutCaucus. Rootstrikers and a coalition of allied groups have now driven more than 500,000 petition signatures, phone calls, and emails to the Senate in opposition to the bill.

The report on S.2155 released by the independent Congressional Budget Office determined that it would increase the likelihood of future taxpayer-funded bank bailouts.