HLS 14RS-3123 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 83
BY REPRESENTATIVE KATRINA JACKSON
CONGRESS: Memorializes congress relative to the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act
separating commercial and investment banking functions
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to reinstate2
the separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect3
under the Glass-Steagall Act.4
WHEREAS, an effective monetary and banking system is essential to the proper5
function of the economy and must function in the public interest without bias; and6
WHEREAS, in 1933, the response from the United States Congress to the stock7
market crash and the Great Depression was to pass the Banking Act of 1933 which is often8
referred to by its sponsors Senators Glass and Steagall or the Glass-Steagall Act; and9
WHEREAS, the term Glass-Steagall Act is most often used to refer to four10
provisions of the Banking Act of 1933 that limited commercial banking securities activities11
and affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms, thereby separating12
commercial banking from investment banking; and13
WHEREAS, the tenets of the Glass-Steagall Act were to allow banks to take deposits14
and make loans and allow brokers to underwrite and sell securities, prohibiting any firm15
from doing both due to conflicts of interest and risks to insured deposits; and16
WHEREAS, starting in the early 1960s, federal banking regulators began to interpret17
provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act to permit commercial banks, and especially commercial18
bank affiliates, to engage in an expanding list and volume of securities activities; and19 HLS 14RS-3123 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 83
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WHEREAS, in 1999, the United States Congress repealed the Glass-Steagall Act,1
once again allowing banks to use insured depositories to underwrite private securities and2
allowing commercial and investment banks to merge; and3
WHEREAS, the repeal of Glass-Steagall partially contributed to the greatest4
speculative bubble and worldwide recession since the Great Depression of 1933, leaving5
millions of homeowners in foreclosure, causing the loss of millions of jobs nationwide, and6
placing severe financial strains on states, counties, and cities, exacerbating unemployment7
and loss of civil services; and8
WHEREAS, many believe that it is time to reinstate the repealed provisions of the9
Glass-Steagall Act in order to prevent the possibility of fraud being perpetrated on customers10
without the separation of banking and underwriting; and11
WHEREAS, congress has been making efforts to restore the protections of Glass-12
Steagall through House Resolution No. 129, known as the Return to Prudent Banking Act13
of 2013, which seeks to revive the separation between commercial banking and investment14
banking; and15
WHEREAS, restoration of the protections of the Glass-Steagall Act has widespread16
national support from several labor organizations, economic and business leaders, and17
entities, media outlets, and others.18
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby19
memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to reinstate the20
separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the21
Glass-Steagall Act, to prohibit commercial banks and bank holding companies from22
investing in stocks, underwriting securities, or investing in or acting as guarantors to23
derivative transactions, in order to protect citizens and to prevent future bailouts of financial24
institutions.25
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the26
presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the27
United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.28 HLS 14RS-3123 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 83
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DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Katrina Jackson HCR No. 83
Memorializes the U.S. Congress to take such actions as are necessary to reinstate the
separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the
Glass-Steagall Act.