Payback to Wall Street Donors, Senate Republicans Propose Do-Nothing Alternative for Consumers
In Latest Payback to Wall Street Donors, Senate Republicans Propose Do-Nothing Alternative for Consumers:
‘Is it Cool if We Exempt the Entire Financial Services Industry from Any Oversight?’
SEE ThinkProgress: GOP Consumer Protection Amendment Would Exempt Most Of The Financial System From Oversight
Washington DC – As the Senate pushes forward on the President’s Wall Street reform bill, Americans United for Change today chided the ‘by-and-for-Wall Street’ Republican ‘alternative’ to the Democratic proposal of creating a Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection within the Federal Reserve that would have broad authority to monitor firms for abusive practices and intervene to protect American consumers.
Tom McMahon, acting executive director, Americans United:“An ‘alternative’ consumer financial protection plan devoid of any consumer protection: the Wall Street banks couldn’t have written it any better themselves – the same banks that have been so generous with their time and donations to Senate Republican in recent weeks. Commercial banks: Senate Republicans propose they be exempt from any oversight. Financial institutions like AIG whose kamikaze bets with other people’s money led to the economic meltdown: exempt. Investment banks: exempt. Credit card companies: exempt. Payday lenders: exempt. Senate Republicans, however, neglect to exempt Main Street from having to once again pay the price of Wall Street’s greed and recklessness, which would go unsupervised and unchecked under their proposal.”