McCain outlines plan for financial markets

Republican presidential nominee John McCain laid out his proposals to shore up U.S. financial markets as Congress and the Bush administration are working on a massive emergency plan. 

“In short order, we are going to put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street,” McCain said in speech in Green Bay, Wis., on Friday morning.

{mosads}The Arizona senator argued that the American people have lost confidence in the country’s financial firms and “fundamental reforms” are needed to restore trust.

Though congressional leaders said late Thursday that they were united behind the emergency plan and it appears that action will be taken quickly, McCain blasted Congress in his remarks.

“It shouldn’t surprise us that the congressional leaders of this do-nothing Congress also said that they weren't going to take action until after the election, claiming that it wasn't their fault,” he said, though he added that last night’s meetings were a good sign.

McCain also accused Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) of “gaming the system” in Washington without having done “a thing to actually challenge the system.”

The Republican proposed the creation on a “Mortgage and Financial Institutions trust,” which would monitor financial institutions and fix those that are in need before the current crises repeat themselves.

McCain also vowed to “propose and sign into law reforms to prevent financial firms from concealing their bad practices,” arguing that greater transparency would have helped avert the current problems.

“Americans have a right to know when their jobs, pensions, IRAs, investments and our whole economy are being put at risk by the recklessness of Wall Street,” the GOP nominee said.

He added that “regulatory clarity” is needed.

“We've got the SEC, the FDIC, the CFTC, the SIPC, the OCC, the Fed. At best, this confusing assortment of regulators and institutions was egregiously lax in carrying out their responsibilities,” the Arizona senator stated. “At worst, they engaged in the old Washington game of guarding their bureaucratic turf, instead of safeguarding the public interest and protecting investors.

“The current system promotes confusion, encourages bureaucratic infighting and creates incentives for financial firms to cut corners,” he added. “We need to enhance regulatory clarity by holding the same financial activity to one regulatory standard. We don't need a dozen federal agencies doing the job badly — we need the best federal agencies to do the job right.”

McCain also demanded that federal bailouts be regulated by strict and consistent rules and that the Federal Reserve “should get back to its core business of responsibly managing our money supply and inflation” and “out of the business of bailouts.”

McCain also changed his rhetoric on Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox. In a part of his speech that was not part of the remarks sent out by his campaign, the Republican nominee sought to back away from a remark he made Thursday.

At the time, McCain said he would fire Cox as president. On Friday morning he revised his statement, saying he would ask him to resign. While presidents appoint SEC chairmen, they cannot fire them.

Meantime, Obama said in a statement early Friday that he “supports the effort of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with the Congressional leadership to find a systemic solution to our deepening crisis, and I will closely examine the specifics of their effort and the opportunities for swift action.”