Chairman Dodd’s Moves Wall Street and Consumer Protection Reform Legislation

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Statement of Diane E. Brown, Executive Director

Arizona PIRG

Arizona PIRG applauds Chairman Dodd of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee for moving forward towards passage of legislation to protect American consumers and increase the stability of the economy. We expect that Wall Street bankers who wrecked havoc on the economy and were then bailed out by the taxpayers will continue to try to delay or kill this reform designed to protect people on Main Street.

To deflect bank opposition to the proposal, Chairman Dodd placed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency in the Federal Reserve. While we continue to support a strong independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency, this consumer bureau appears to be in, but not under, the Fed, with a strong firewall. Additionally, the proposal gives the consumer bureau broad rulemaking authority, but allows the system risk council dominated by institutions that failed consumers in the past the power to veto these rules, which is unacceptable.

The U.S. House passed its version of reform, but we now face an army of bank lobbyists seeking to weaken this bill in the U.S. Senate. Arizona PIRG will continue to advocate for our Senators to vote with Main Street to improve this package instead of weakening in for Wall Street.

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