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Message from Elizabeth Warren
(I'm sure many of you got this also, but thought I'd share it for posterity, if nothing else. - HAA)
Friends,
I asked Maureen if I could write something directly to all of you. I know todays vote hurt, but Ive known for eight years that it was coming. Lets face, we had the heart and they had the money. They won today, but they wont win forever.
It has been a privilege to work with you, and before this day is over, I want to say three things to you:
1) You have been incredibly well represented.
It is hard to appreciate how hard Maureen has worked. Ive thrown questions and pleas for help at her morning, noon and nightliterally. Ive asked for families, for introductions and for weird stats. She has always come through, and done it with good cheer. I am absolutely certain that without her this bill would have been law a long time ago.
Thanks also go to Henry Sommer. He put in staggering amounts of time on everything, but particularly on drafting amendments, coaching staffers, doing the down and dirty work to make this bill better. He was the go-to guy with every question about how this would work or how that would hurt people Henry was tireless. He put his heart and soul into this, and we all owe him a debt that can never be repaid.
The list could go on. Mark Stern and Corinne Cooper have been simply amazing. Charles Juntikka has been in there pitching to reporters and coming up with new ideas. Rich Levin, a big-time corporate bkcy guy at Skadden, volunteered a zillion hours to help out on drafting. We have been blessed with good people.
2) This isnt over.
Yes, we lost the vote today and the skids are greased for this monster to become law. But that doesnt change anything about the underlying realities. These families need you. And youll find a way to make this work.
You are smart lawyers. You canand you willfind the ambiguities, the places between the lines, the room to help out these families. Just get out there and share with each other. You are the ones who control the bankruptcy system.
3) The world will change.
These guys are over-reaching, and it cannot go on forever. The fact that NACBA now exists is just one sign of how news seeds are planted.
About 18 months ago, I knew this was coming. Sure, I kept working, but I made a critical decision: Im not counting on Congress for anything. Nope, Im going straight to the people. In one of those little ironies that someday we may appreciate, I had a new book come out today: All Your Worth Im a teacher, and Ive poured everything I could muster into helping families get the credit industry out of their pockets. But the book isnt preachy or gloomy. It is a self-help book for people of all financial circumstances. It is cheerful, encouraging and utterly subversive. I believe that no one can read it and ever vote again for the bad guys.
So Im not going away. I hope you are still going to be here too.
Elizabeth Warren
The post was migrated from Yahoo.