Republicans went “too far” when they spearheaded the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, a top GOP lawmaker says. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said that many of his current colleagues erred when they voted to repeal the 1933 act that mandated, among other things, the separation of commercial and investment banking.

“There’s no question that, in 1999, when they ‘deregulated’ by getting rid of Glass-Steagall — something that was done with a Republican Congress and a Democratic president — I think we really went too far in saying there are banks and there are non-banks and they can own each other,” Issa said during an interview on Fox Business Network.

“It’s very clear that banks are banks, investment banks are not banks and insurance companies are not banks,” said Issa, who is a critic of the Wall Street reform legislation currently before Congress.  “And getting to a clear understanding of who regulates each of these and who watches them, whether they’re public or private, is something we need to do, and something we need to do on a bipartisan basis.”  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other lawmakers have proposed reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act.

Rep. Darrell Issa on Financial Reform (Fox Business News video 4/26/10)

May 4, 2010