Dems May Cave on Consumer Agency

Proving they serve banks, not families, says Elizabeth Warren
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 19, 2010 9:43 AM CST
Dems May Cave on Consumer Agency
Congressional Oversight Panel Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren asks a question of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during a hearing on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Senate Democrats are signaling that they're willing to drop the independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency to get financial reform passed, but they'll have to go through bailout watchdog Elizabeth Warren to kill it. The fight over the independent agency is a showdown between the banks' interests and those of American families, Warren told supporters yesterday—and the outcome will show "whether the financial crisis actually changed something."

Banks have been firmly opposed to the creation of a CFPA because it would threaten their ability to make huge profits by selling deceptively labeled financial products, Warren says. "The CFPA is the best indicator of whether Congress will reform Wall Street or whether it will continue to give Wall Street whatever it wants," Warren tells Reuters, warning that the reform bill might as well read "Made in Wall St." if the CFPA goes. (More consumer protection agency stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X