Well what do you expect from a former Wall Street investment banker:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
In just their first legislative session since taking control of the Senate, Republicans on the Budget Committee pushed through a Wall Street-supported amendment attacking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The amendment, offered by Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), is a resolution to move the CFPB's funding away from the Federal Reserve and put it under the direct control of Congress through the appropriations process. This would not only give Republicans an opportunity to slash the bureau's funding, but to leverage its budgeting control to pressure the agency against cracking down on lenders. (Nice consumer bureau you got there. It'd be a shame if something happened to it.)
House Republicans have passed several bills in recent years taking aim at the CFPB, including legislation attacking its funding source and trying to tie up its operations with congressionally imposed red tape. None of those bills were enacted, however, because the Senate was controlled by Democrats. Now that the GOP holds the majority in the Upper Chamber, they're taking a cue from their House colleagues.
Toomey made the case for the amendment before the committee by deploying standard House GOP talking points that have repeatedly been debunked by the Congressional Research Service and others.
"The CFPB is completely unaccountable," Toomey insisted. "It is unique among enormously powerful regulators in having no accountability to Congress. It has exceeded its authority in part because it's not subject to congressional oversight. And it's frankly outrageous that they are able to operate with the budget that they have and with the latitude they have without having to come to Congress for this oversight." - Huffington Post, 3/20/15
It should also be noted that Senators Rob Portman (R. OH) and Kelly Ayotte (R. NH), who are both up for re-election, voted for Toomey's bill. Senators Jeff Merkley (D. OR) and Bernie Sanders (I. VT) by noting that other bank regulators are also not subjected to appropriations, and emphasizing that the CFPB is audited by both the Government Accountability Office and the Fed Inspector General. In addition, the CFPB is required to report to Congress, testify before Congress and abide by standard regulatory disclosures and processes.
Joe Sestak (D. PA) hammered Toomey's Wall Street support and for pushing for the repeal of Glass-Stegall Act while in Congress. Portman is also a notorious advocate of trade deals but will be going up against former Governor Ted Strickland (D. OH), a true public servant. Of course we're all waiting to see if Governor Maggie Hassan (D. NH) will jump in to take on Ayotte. We will see. But the battle for the Senate begins now. Click here to donate and get involved with Sestak and Strickland's campaigns:
http://joesestak.com/
http://www.tedstrickland.com/...