It was then that I issued the notice providing for the nation-wide bank holiday. This was the first step in the government's repair of our financial and economic fabric.
The second step was the legislation promptly and patriotically passed by the @Congress. It confirmed my proclamation and broadened my powers so that it became possible to extend the holiday and lift the ban of that holiday gradually. This law also gave authority to develop a program of rehabilitation of our banking facilities. I want to tell our citizens in every part of the nation that the national Congress -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- showed by this action a devotion to public welfare. They demonstrated a realization of the emergency and the necessity for speed that is difficult to match in our history.
The third stage has been the series of regulations permitting the banks to continue their functions to take care of the distribution of food and household necessities and the payment of payrolls.
This bank holiday, while resulting in many cases in great inconvenience, is giving us the chance to supply the currency necessary to meet the situation. No sound bank is a dollar worse off than it was when it closed its doors last Monday.
