The Consumer Financial Protection Agency apparently lives again in the financial reform package Sen. Chris Dodd is drafting. A few weeks ago, the very existence of that agency was in doubt, because of Republican obstructionism. Today HuffPo is reporting that it's back, although likely not as a completely independent agency.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), who's shepherding financial reform legislation through the chamber, will release the latest version of his bill later this month, perhaps as early as this week. Sources say he'll likely call for an agency that will have:
* The authority to write and enforce rules governing mortgages, credit cards and consumer loans;
* Its own budget, one not subject to the Congressional appropriations process so it can't be harmed by lawmakers bent on taking away its power;
* A unitary executive nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate;
* And the power to police both banks and non-bank financial firms like payday lenders and mortgage finance companies.
The new body will "most likely" be housed within the Treasury Department, according to a Banking Committee aide. While it won't be a purely independent agency like the Federal Trade Commission or the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- two consumer-focused agencies on which it's modeled -- it will still meet "the principles of [an] independent agency," Heather Booth, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, said in an e-mail.
Perhaps most importantly, though, the new organization's decisions will likely not be subject to vetoes by the regulators in charge of overseeing the health of banks and the financial system as a whole. That way, it will be able to protect consumers without having to worry about bank regulators overruling it in the name of banking profits, for example....
Dodd has been "negotiating" with Shelby, who has remained steadfastly opposed to an agency that is separate from any of the existing regulary agencies. Unsurprisingly, those negotiations have stalled. There's little question as to why--Republicans are unequivocally on the side of the banksters. Of course they are, that's where the money is for them.
Dodd, the White House, and Senate leadership have another softball headed right over the plate. It's the Republicans and the banksters versus the Dems and ordinary Americans. They need to swing and swing hard at this one and set up a clear choice. The contrast could not be clearer, and it needs to be highlighted.