Press Releases

Wall Street Gave Valadao $559K as He Rolled Back Banking Rules

Mar 17, 2023

Representative David Valadao took $559K from Wall Street and the banking industry as he voted to roll back the Dodd-Frank rules that could’ve prevented Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) from collapsing.

Wall Street spent nearly $500 million on campaign contributions and lobbying in 2018, pressing lawmakers like David Valadao to pass a Trump-era law rewriting the Dodd-Frank Act to ensure regional-sized banks faced less regulatory scrutiny–even if they posed financial risks for everyday Americans.

Throughout his career, Valadao has taken $559,000 from Wall Street.

A 2018 CBO analysis of the rollback warned that it would increase the risk of collapse for banks like SVB. Nevertheless, Valadao listened to corporate lobbyists instead and voted for the Trump-backed Dodd-Frank rollbacks in Congress. After appeasing his banking industry backers, a deregulated SVB collapsed six years later.

“Representative David Valadao is a big-time player in the corrupt system that favors Wall Street and banking executives at the detriment of hard-working people,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Unsurprisingly, Valadao took $559K from the banking industry and voted to roll back rules that protected the economy from corporate greed. Valadao sold out regular people for campaign cash, and he should be held accountable.”

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