Franken’s credit rating amendment passes

MnIndy file photo

Sen. Al Franken’s amendment to eliminate conflicts of interest between credit rating agencies and financial institutions passed the Senate by a 64-to-35 vote on Thursday. The amendment is now part of the financial reform bill being debated in Congress.

“Today is a major victory for Main Streets all over America,” said Sen. Franken said in a statement. “We’re cleaning up Wall Street’s dishonest system and replacing it with one that rewards accuracy instead of fraud. My proposal wasn’t conservative, or liberal, or even moderate. It was just plain common sense. That’s why I had the support of colleagues on both sides of the aisle and why we were able to win today.”

Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi added, “Today, the Senate sent a strong, bipartisan message that conflicts of interest must be removed from the current credit-rating system.”