Key Vote Alert: H.R. 4173, the "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009"

by Brad Peck

First some background, actually wait, first Call Congress, now some background from Politico's Morning Money:

HOUSE TO VOTE TODAY ON FRANK BILL reports POLITICO's Victoria McGrane: Much of the lobbying and debate Thursday was focused on a hot-button amendment from the very genteel Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) that would scrap the stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Instead, Minnick's measure would create a council of existing regulators - from state regulators to Treasury to consider consumer protection rules...IN AN INTERVIEW WITH POLITICO, MINNICK defended his measure, saying it would raise consumer protection to an equal footing with prudential supervision, as CFPA supporters want.  But at the same time, consumer protection power would not be separated from safety and soundness concerns into two separate agencies with the bank or financial firm caught in the middle of the resulting conflict, said Minnick.  What's more, his measure comes without the $4.6 billion pricetag that the CFPA does, "and in the case of my community banks and my credit unions is located 3000 miles away and has no idea about the specifics.  I want one regulator to look at both of them equally and have them as close and as knowledgeable about the institutions they regulate as possible," he said.

And some more from our Key Vote Letter:

The financial crisis has highlighted problems that have existed within the U.S. financial system for quite some time. Before the crisis erupted, the Chamber called for a broad-based overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system as a means to increase the efficiency of capital markets and provide businesses with the opportunity to grow and expand. The Chamber was not alone in pointing to the fact that a patchwork system of regulation creates inefficient capital markets and thwarts the ability of the economy to grow.

While there are positive elements of H.R. 4173, including the preemption standard for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the Manager's Amendment, they are significantly outweighed by provisions that will only magnify and exacerbate flaws within the existing regulatory structure and hamper the growth of the economy. The Chamber strongly supports two amendments, one offered by Rep. Minnick, the other by Rep. Murphy, which would address some of the shortcomings of H.R. 4173...The Chamber opposes several other amendments:

The Chamber believes that H.R. 4173 is far from achieving the financial regulatory reform that is needed for the economic growth and job creation for a prosperous 21st century economy. The Chamber will continue to work with Congress to achieve these goals. The Chamber will consider votes on, or in relation to, these issues in our annual How They Voted scorecard.

And more even more at StopTheCFPA -- now what you can do:

Recognizing the potential danger of another sweeping bureaucracy to further restrict businesses, moderate members of Congress have introduced an amendment to replace the CFPA. Instead of a new government agency that will restrict access to credit for small businesses and consumers, the Minnick Amendment creates a council of existing regulators that will coordinate and strengthen efforts to protect consumers and ultimately economic recovery.

Call your Congressman now and tell him or her to support the Minnick Amendment.

Comments

[steve]

i do not understand the so-called conection between the wall st. banks and our local economies.