The better angels of the House and Senate took a hit yesterday in the Wall Street Reform conference, with auto-dealers and banksters and Arkansas Walton family all gaining. Glimmers of good are a pretty decent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and, well, that's about it.
Bill Scher has a great run-down at Progressive Breakfast.
Auto dealers may escape new consumer protection agency, but final deal not yet reached. W. Post: "Under Dodd's proposal, auto dealers would technically be exempt from the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. However, the bureau would have the power to write new truth-in-lending rules that could apply to auto dealers. The Federal Reserve could ignore those rules but would have to explain its rationale. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission would have the authority to adopt aggressive new rules governing dealer-assisted financing ... House negotiators had yet to agree to it Tuesday evening ... though it seemed nearly certain that auto dealers would escape direct supervision by the new consumer bureau ... auto dealers were happy with the prospect of escaping regulation but remained wary of the Senate proposal."
Click here to fax Dodd and Frank and say NO to any auto dealer loophole.
Deal nears to house new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection at Fed. Reformers claim victory. McClatchy: "The bureau will get powers of autonomy to write rules for consumer protections for almost all lenders that extend credit to consumers ... 'We have won our major priority, which is winning the agency. All the major banks in the world and the (U.S.) Chamber of Commerce tried to kill the agency and they lost,' said Ed Mierzwinski, director of consumer programs for the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups."
Sen. Scott Brown expected to win Volcker Rule loophole. W. Post: "...Boston-based State Street wields enormous influence. The bank has a powerful advocate: Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), whose vote the Democrats need to pass the financial overhaul bill ... Some critics say that State Street is the perfect example of a bank that required taxpayer bailouts during the financial crisis because the firm engaged in the kind of risky trading the Volcker rule is designed to stop." More from Bloomberg.
Dean Baker knocks right-leaning Dems seeking special deal for local wealthy constituents: "The Wall Street Journal reported on efforts by Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln to secure a provision in the financial reform bill that will aid an Arkansas bank owned by the Walton family ... there is little evidence that capital constraints on banks are affecting consumers or businesses ability to raise capital at present, as Lincoln implied ... last week the Washington Post reported on Indiana Senator Evan Bayh's efforts to save the fund manager's tax subsidy. It asserted that he was motivated by a concern about helping growing businesses, as opposed to the more obvious explanation, that he simply wanted to help wealthy people who supported his political ambitions."
There's conflicting information on where they're headed on derivatives reform, expected to take up most of tomorrow. Huffpost Hill reports that the effort spearheaded by the New York Dem delegation to represent their Wall Street buddies is "fizzling," with only 13 of the 26 members of the delegation backing the effort. However, an e-mail from the folks at A New Way Forward says that the rumor on the Hill is of "a possible compromise on Derivatives because of the New Democrat Coalition and the New York delegation letter," with this suggestion:
These are the 13 signatories of the letter - Tell them you support Lincoln's derivatives language to stop tax dollars for derivatives and that we will DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO DEFEAT THEM if they continue to choose the big banks over regular people on this vote. Every single one of them!
Joe Crowley -- 202-225-3965
Steve Israel -- 202-225-3335
Brian Higgins -- 202-225-3306
Yvette Clarke -- 202-225-6231
Scott Murphy -- 202-225-5614
Daniel Maffei -- 202-225-3701
Eliot Engel 202-225-2464
Carolyn McCarthy 202-225-5516
Nita Lowey 202-225-6506
Anthony Weiner 202-225-6616
Michael Arcuri 202-225-3665
John Hall 202-225-5441
Michael McMahon 202-225-3371
These 13 New York congressmen have banded together to keep taxpayer handouts flowing for banks' risky gambling and the Dem leadership/decisionmakers in Congress are ready to cave.
In further NY-inspired mischief, Sen. Schumer has been trying to water down the swipe fee compromise that the conferees had reached. "As the compromise stood yesterday, banks and major credit card companies were set to lose billions in profits every year, thus denting their concentration of wealth and power. Also, some of the money will be passed along to small businesses, charities, and consumers." Schumer has backed down, but now apparently two House Dems on the conference committee, Gary Peters (MI-09), (202-225-5802) and Dennis Moore (KS-03), (202-225-2865) are considering introducing a amendment to gut the swipe fee compromise. That would be a very bad deal for consumers.
You can watch the proceedings (those that aren't happening behind closed doors) streaming and on TV at C-SPAN3.