Don't hamstring consumer bureau
President Barack Obama with Elizabeth Warren, his assistant for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Credit: AP
Consumer alert: The one reform that came out of the financial crisis specifically to protect you is under stealth attack in the House of Representatives.
Changes that would delay the birth of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and undermine its ability to protect the public from deceptive lending were approved in the House Financial Services Committee last week. They are dry and procedural -- and would eviscerate the bureau before it opens for business.
That's how the bidding of powerful interests gets done in Washington; quietly, bit by obscure bit. In this case that means stripping away the muscle the bureau needs to stand up to big financial institutions. Congress shouldn't let that happen.
One amendment the committee passed would replace the bureau's director with a five-member commission, a ploy to avoid getting a tough advocate like Elizabeth Warren, the front-runner for the job.
If the post of director survives, another amendment would postpone the transfer of any regulatory power to the bureau until that top person is in place. That's an obvious delaying tactic since senators could filibuster any nomination into oblivion.
And in a shot right to the heart of the bureau's power, a third amendment would increase the authority of a council of existing financial regulators to veto any rule the bureau issued that might hurt company profits. They should all be rejected.
An emaciated champion will provide no protection at all for consumers. hN
