Sanders reports on the "jaw dropping" $3.3 trillion in emergency loans and more than $9 trillion in over 21,000 short-term loans and other financial arrangements the Federal Reserve handed out without input or supervision, dwarfing the $700 billion Treasury Department bank bailout during the Wall Street meltdown.
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Bernie Sanders names names: In December 2010 the Federal Reserve finally disclosed their secret funding of banks, corporations and individuals during the Wall Street meltdown. The Fed. was forced to do so by legislation introduced by Bernie Sanders. Sanders reports on the "jaw dropping" size of $3.3 trillion in emergency loans and other assistance and more than $9 trillion in over 21,000 short-term loans and other financial arrangements the Federal Reserve handed out without input or supervision. The figures revealed dwarf the $700 billion Treasury Department bank bailout signed into law under President George W. Bush - which Sanders voted against.
Vermont's independent Senator Bernie Sanders' 8 1/2 hour filibuster speech in protest of the Bill that - among other gifts - extended tax breaks to the richest Americans, crashed the Senate servers. Bars and Pizza parlors carried his speech live.
He began speaking on the morning of Friday, December 10 and did not eat or sit down until 7 pm. He gave one of those speeches many wished Pres. Obama was capable of giving.
Even though - or really because the bill did pass both houses a few days later - Sanders' words must be remembered. This bill, ironically called: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 is an attack on social security and a blueprint for even larger gifts and tax relief to corporation and the richest of the rich.
The speech is also filled with fascinating details of the ongoing work by Bernie Sanders and a few colleagues. Sanders had led a fight against the powerful U.S. Federal Reserve and won, forcing the central bank to disclose more details than ever on its rescue actions during the financial crisis.