http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/03/22/3762291/ted-cruz-phil-gramm/
"He inserted a provision in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000 that exempted complex derivatives — such as credit-default swaps — from regulatory oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The lack of regulation meant that as the use of credit-default swaps grew in the lead up to the crisis, banks weren’t required to create backstops in case they failed, and once they all came crashing down amid the housing bubble’s burst, it left financial institutions exposed. Credit-default swaps took down AIG, leading to its bailout."
