43 GOP Senators Threaten Obstruction Unless Consumer Protection Bureau Is Weakened

[octoberlib]

When the Dodd-Frank financial reform law first passed, Senate Republicans refused to confirm a director for the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They promised to block any nominee — regardless of that nominee’s qualifications for the job — unless the Bureau was weakened and made subservient to the same bank regulators who failed to prevent the 2008 financial crisis.
President Obama was thus forced to recess appoint Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the Bureau’s first director. Now that Obama has renewed Cordray’s nomination, the Senate GOP is again promising to block any nominee unless the Bureau is watered down:
In a letter sent to President Obama on Friday, 43 Republican senators committed to refusing approval of any nominee to head the consumer watchdog until the bureau underwent significant reform. Lawmakers signing on to the letter included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee.
“The CFPB as created by the deeply flawed Dodd-Frank Act is one of the least accountable in Washington,” said McConnell. “Today’s letter reaffirms a commitment by 43 Senators to fix the poorly thought structure of this agency that has unprecedented reach and control over individual consumer decisions — but an unprecedented lack of oversight and accountability.” [...]
In particular, Republicans want to see the top of the bureau changed so it is run by a bipartisan, five-member commission, as opposed to a lone director.
They also want to see the bureau’s funding fall under the control of congressional appropriators — it currently is funded via a revenue stream directly from the Federal Reserve.

Republicans want to implement a commission (instead of a lone director) and subject the CFPB to the appropriations process in order to stuff it full of appointees with no interest in regulating and starve it of funds. The other financial system regulators that have to go before Congress for their funds already don’t have the resources to implement Dodd-Frank, thanks to the House GOP, leaving large swathes of it unfinished. There are also a host of other reasons that the CFPB needs to be both independently funded and have a strong, independent director.
The CFPB has done important work on behalf of consumers, winning wide praise from consumer advocates and the financial industry. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have made it abundantly clear that they believe that blocking any and all nominees is an acceptable strategy.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/02/01/1530481/gop-senators-pledge-block-consumer-bureau


Business as usual for the GOP. They want to destroy anything that might benefit the average American.

[Stuart G]

1. Let Us Hear it for Harry Reid...ok...43, a minority vs the rest..a majority. Thank You Harry!! more.

If you would like to know how I feel, about Harry not being able to stop these people from weakening Consumer Protection ..
They will obstruct at any cost...that is 43 vs the rest

......you can link to my link in a minute...but ..please...do not be offended by harsh language....because we consumers need.."protection" from the big banks and wall street. They sure do not care about you and me. Do they? So Harry delivered a way for these 43 to obstruct...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022270043

[lark]

34. Fuck Harry

He's the Repugs best friend and our worst enemy way way too often. I'm so sick of him I could just

[northoftheborder]

2. Nauseous news

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Harry you blew another one.

Reid is such a fake,you all new this was going to go down this way. This is Reid's last term,it's time to build his pension for his church and family. Nothing more and nothing less.

[ReRe]

12. I knew Reid was going to cave on Inauguration Day...

...did you see him walk out to the balcony? I thought he was going to collapse. OK...I worried about him for a minute... then...

At the luncheon, when it was his turn to toast President Obama, he brought his glass and sat it down behind him, gave a forgettable short speech, and then walked off and didn't even click glasses with the President. He just walked off, like he would rather be anywhere than at that luncheon, like he was in another world. Did not smile, and I don't think he even looked at PO.

I knew right then that something was up with Harry.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. These idiots must be stopped. NOW.

[indepat]

5. That any GOPer ever gets more than 35% of the vote in any national election is mind-boggling

[Sunlei]

18. I think GOP scams,cheats, and gerrymanders a high % of their votes.

[jmowreader]

6. Is anyone surprised by this?

The GOP's guiding principle is we have too many laws. Their problem is they'd think the same way if we had only one law.

[sakabatou]

19. Nope, since many of the GOP are douchebags.

[socialindependocrat]

7. 'scuse me! This is to protect the CONSUMER!

It ought to be a simple task to identify a few of these asshats who are bought and protecting the corporations and the wealthy.

Oh..... they're all bought?!

Then where's the ethics committee?

Oh.... they're bought, too...

Then let's take it to the Supreme Court!!

Oh....them, too?

never mind...

[santamargarita]

8. Servile scum, all goddamn Republicans!!!

[JoePhilly]

13. Low post count and a sexist remark. Interesting combination.

[CranialRectaLoopback]

14. Low post count is irrelevant. And, yes, I'm mocking Senator Reid.

I don't pretend to be saintly. Do you?

[JoePhilly]

35. I get to decide what I find "relevant".

Welcome to the internet.

[Stuart G]

10. Only 2 Pukes did not support this, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) Sen Bob Corker of Tenn...

All the rest of them went along with this....and they will probably do this...perhaps someone on our side... has a trick up their sleve...???

[leftieNanner]

11. Dear Harry,

I used to think you were a wimp and a weenie and didn't understand why you were the Majority Leader in the Senate. Then, during the recent Presidential election, you stood up on the Senate floor and called out Mitt for his tax shenanigans. I thought maybe you had finally grown some, and there was a good reason for you to be The Man. You had the chance to fix the filibuster. You promised you would fix the filibuster. No more of this ridiculous 60 votes required for all Senate business...... Now I think you're a wimp and a weenie again. And here, with the CFPB on the line, is the evidence. Can't we have Barbara Boxer or Jeff Merkley? Please? Harry, just go away.

Love,
Leftienanner

[greymattermom]

15. I think it's all about the Mormons

Harry was upset that Mitt cheated on his tithing, not that Mitt didn't pay taxes. Now, the Mormons have called Harry home and told him what to do. Why else would he be so upset on inauguration day?

[mtasselin]

16. Reid

Thank You again Harry Reid. What did the turtle promise that he would not obstruct and you believed him, is there a secret Cayman account setup for you, just what what the hell were you thinking. Just as that goof is going down as the worse speaker your legacy is also tarnished, please don't tell me about the history of the Senate, as in life it needs to evolve, the repukicans let it evolve and you had your chance to do some good and you failed.

[Dustlawyer]

17. This needs to bite these Repugs in the ass! The Repugs are against consumer protection!

Another issue that would be solved after we force COMPLETE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM(CCFR) down their throats! If only Dems, Progressives, and even Repugs would recognize that we all benefit by the restoration of Representative Democracy! If we at DU would all start a push for CCFR, maybe we can get the grass roots started and pick up steam. This should be our only issue! It will take massive grass roots support and then you will see how far they are willing to fight for control of our political process. There are so many issues driven by the "special interests" that would never gain traction after CCFR is enacted. Will they chip away at it, sure, but most of the control they exercise over politicians from both parties will be severely weakened. Stop bitching about shit like this and start demanding CCFR! Spread the word here at DU and everywhere else you can!

[MjolnirTime]

20. You can't really make threats about something that is already guaranteed.

[DFW]

21. Here's a "guess the number" question

How many Senators have been blatantly bought and paid for by big business that fears consumer advocates?

Hint: it's a prime number between 41 and 47.

[loudsue]

22. We all need to HAMMER those 43 GOPers.

They may do as they please, but they're going to hear about it in their districts!

[RiverNoord]

23. And people keep voting for this party because...

? The only explanation is that two political machines have a stranglehold on the entire political apparatus of the country, and if you don't want to vote for one of them, you have no realistic choice but to vote for the other one...

[greymattermom]

24. next stop

Sequester. In their districts.

[nonoxy9]

25. Good job, Harry! Trusting that bunch of snakes!

[still_one]

26. So glad we got rid of the filibuster

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

27. Why do Republicans hate Americans?

[deutsey]

29. They represent a mentality that doesn't see most of us as Americans

You know, that strict constructionist bullshit where the Constitution is for white, wealthy men of certain backgrounds and bloodlines.

The rest of us are here to serve them.

[benld74]

28. IF Dodd-Frank Act is SO deeply flawed

WHY is it you morons bring it up every chance you have WHEN it helps your efin cause


whatever the hell THAT is.

[Botany]

30. This in less then 2 weeks after Mitch McChinless promised to work w/ the democrats ...

.... if they gave up on the filibuster?

BTW in 2014 this should be hung around the neck of every republican running .....
you like big fees and high % interests on credit cards? then vote republican.

Thanx a steaming pant load Harry.

“I’m not personally, at this stage, ready to get rid of the 60-vote threshold.” H. Reid

[Madmiddle]

31. Time to replace all 545.

Time for the American people to put a stop to this shit

[Fearless]

32. Let them obstruct and call out every one of them publically.

[pampango]

33. Good point. The only good news here is that Cordray's hearing will give republicans the opportunity

to shoot themselves in the foot with the American people. If their electoral disaster of last year has not taught them the folly of openly acting as Wall Street's cheerleader then give them a chance to publicly show their true character again and again and again.

[sinkingfeeling]

36. Why can't we charge 43 GOP Senators with dereliction of duty ?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

37. This is an incredible and flagrant violation of the law as it currently exists

Congress passed the law and President Obama signed it, so it is law now. Republicans don't get to demand changes to the law by simply refusing to confirm somebody to head the agency until the changes they want are made. IMHO they need to allow a confirmation vote for a head of the agency and if they want changes, they need to work on getting them passed and signed into law (which they won't) of course, but that sucks for them. That's how it's *supposed* to work in our system though. If the President is a Democrat and, particularly, if one of the two legislative bodies are Democratic, you're not likely to get Republican policies signed into law, certainly not without some compromise. Are Republicans suggesting that we could have stopped or obstructed a bunch of Bush initiatives by engaging in such tactics when we were in the minority for 6 years? We all know how that would have gone over with them and how outraged they would be by this. Now, since they're the ones doing this, they think it is perfectly acceptable. This would be a great opportunity for them to demonstrate to the country how, through the use of "improved messaging", they will get Americans to stop worrying and love Republicans and their desire to weaken the moderate financial reform that Congress passed in the wake of the 2008 meltdown.