Sens. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann WarrenAnalysis: Buttigieg tops in private flights among 2020 Democrats Biden is only top 2020 Democrat leading Trump in Ohio: poll Sen. Warren, reliving the good old days, hopes for a recession MORE (D-Mass.) and John McCain
John Sidney McCainThe Hill's Morning Report — Mueller day finally arrives Meghan McCain and O'Rourke clash over comparing Trump rally to Nuremberg Kyrsten Sinema calls to address veteran suicides, mental health needs in first Senate floor speech MORE (R-Ariz.) are reintroducing legislation to revive the Glass-Steagall Act, which would force big banks to split their investment and commercial banking practices.
Glass-Steagall was first passed in 1933 but repealed during the Clinton administration, leading many progressives to argue that it contributed to the 2008 financial collapse.
Warren and McCain, along with their cosponsors, Sens. Angus King
Angus Stanley KingAl Franken says he 'absolutely' regrets resigning Poll: McConnell is most unpopular senator Senate panel advances Pentagon chief, Joint Chiefs chairman nominees MORE (I-Maine) and Maria Cantwell
Maria Elaine CantwellHillicon Valley: FTC fines Facebook B in privacy settlement | Critics pan settlement as weak | Facebook also faces FTC antitrust probe | Senate panel advances 'deepfakes' legislation | House passes anti-robocall bill Lawmakers deride FTC settlement as weak on Facebook Senate confirms Trump's pick to lead FAA MORE (D-Wash.), said in a statement that the legislation would make big banks that are "too big to fail" smaller and safer and minimize the likelihood of a government bailout.
The bill, which they first introduced in the last Congress, would separate traditional banking with checking and savings accounts from financial institutions that offer services such as investment banking, which are riskier.
"Despite the progress we've made since 2008, the biggest banks continue to threaten our economy," said Warren, an ardent Wall Street critic, in a statement. "The biggest banks are collectively much larger than they were before the crisis, and they continue to engage in dangerous practices that could once again crash our economy."
McCain said the repeal of Glass-Steagall led to "a culture of dangerous greed and excessive risk-taking" in the banking industry.
"Big Wall Street institutions should be free to engage in transactions with significant risk, but not with federally insured deposits," McCain said in a statement.
Many of President Clinton's former advisers vehemently deny claims that repealing the law brought on the financial crisis, instead pointing to problems in the housing market and risky lending by banks.
