And believe it or not, the Republicans are still blocking the appointment of anyone to be the head of the CFPB. This time it's Richard Cordray (who was nominated by President Obama after it became clear that Professor Warren could not be approved). It's been over a year now, and the GOP is treating Cordray just like they did Warren. They are blocking his nomination, and they say they will continue to block it until the CFPB is weakened by rewriting the law that created it. They are still trying to protect the giant banks instead of the citizens they were elected to protect.
But this time there's something different. Senator Elizabeth Warren is not only in the Senate, she's on the Senate Banking Committee (a nightmare for the Wall Street moguls). And that committee is the one where the Republicans are trying to hold up Cordray's nomination to head the CFPB. This week that committee is once again questioning Mr. Cordray for the umpteenth time -- and Senator Warren has had enough of it. When it was her turn, she didn't bother to question Cordray. Instead, she aimed her remarks at the Republican senators trying to weaken the CFPB protections by delaying Cordray's nomination. Here is some of what she had to say:
"I see nothing here but a filibuster threat against Director Cordray as an attempt to weaken the consumer agency. I think the delay in getting him confirmed is bad for consumers, it's bad for small banks, bad for credit unions, for anyone trying to offer an honest product in an honest market."
"The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks, and more about helping regular people who have been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans and on credit reports."
"What I want to know is why, since the 1800s, have there been agencies all over Washington with a single director, including the [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency], but unlike the consumer agency, no one in the U.S. Senate has held up confirmation of their directors demanding that the agency be redesigned."
"What I want to know, is why every banking regulator since the Civil War has been funded outside the appropriations process -- but unlike the consumer agency, no one in the U.S. Senate has held up confirmation of their directors demanding that that agency or those agencies be redesigned."
"And what I want to know is why there are agencies all over Washington whose rules are final subject to ordinary reviews and oversight, while the CFPB is the only agency in government subject to a veto by other agencies -- but unlike the CFPB, no one in the U.S. Senate holds up confirmation of their directors demanding that those agencies be redesigned."
Thank you Massachusetts, for sending this wonderful woman to Washington! Ted Kennedy would be very proud to have Elizabeth Warren holding the senate seat that he had held for many illustrious years.