Financial Reform Legislation Statement on the Senate Banking Committee's Approval of the Legislation.

I am deeply gratified by the Senate Banking Committee's approval of my financial institutions deregulation legislation.

For the past decade, the Federal Government has imposed a ceiling on the interest rates that savers can receive on their deposits in banks and savings institutions. Those ceilings have cost the American people billions of dollars in lost interest annually, and they have become increasingly unfair to the small saver. Especially during a period of high inflation, it is simply unacceptable for the Government to force the small saver with a passbook account at a commercial bank to accept a 5 1/4 percent yield when large and sophisticated savers may receive more than 11 percent.

I would like to thank Chairman Proxmire for his leadership on this bill, and I will continue to work closely with the Congress to assure final action on this important legislation.