Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 39 to 29, represents a key part of a broader effort by Congress and President Obama to modernize America’s financial regulatory system in response to last year’s financial crisis.
“With today’s historic vote to establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, we move a step closer to answering President Obama’s call for strengthened accountability and responsibility by corporate America. This new agency represents a key component of the groundbreaking and comprehensive reform of financial regulation the House will consider in the coming weeks.
“The new agency will curtail abusive industry practices and will protect consumers from mistreatment and protect the broader financial market from the abuses of the past. For example, this new agency will be responsible for enforcing the landmark Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this year, and the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending bill that has already passed the House.
“Consumers will have a powerful advocate in the new agency, so that American families can have the information they need to make informed financial decisions. The agency will crack down on industry practices that are only designed to increase profits at the expense of consumers, suffering with high and hidden fees and small print no one can understand. In addition, the bill restricts the Bush-era anti-consumer practice of suspending state consumer protection laws and regulations.
“The House has already moved aggressively to pass legislation to reform executive compensation practices at public companies, and I commend the Financial Services and the Agriculture Committees for moving to regulate the over-the-counter derivatives market in which some of the most irresponsible action occurred that helped lead to last year’s financial crisis.
“Taxpayers should never be called upon to take responsibility for corporate America’s appalling business decisions and excess. The Congress and the Obama Administration are working to enact tough financial regulatory reform in order to prevent massive taxpayer interventions in the future.
“I commend Chairman Barney Frank for his leadership in shepherding this path-breaking legislation that will bring us closer to a future free from the abusive, anti-consumer practices that contributed to a financial crisis from which we will spend years recovering.”
Pelosi: Consumers Will Have a Powerful Advocate With Creation of New Consumer Financial Protection Agency
October 22, 2009
