Congress Rejects Call to Axe Consumer Financial Protection Oversight

Senators voted against an amendment by Sen. John Thune (R-SD), that would sunset the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, as the Senate rounds out its week tweaking the financial reform bill. Thune said on the Senate floor that the provision would have required Congress to reevaluate the bureau after four years. He warned that, as it stands in the Dodd bill, Congress “has literally no oversight or authority” over the Bureau, even though it will “spend hundreds of millions of dollars” annually. The Bureau, if created, would serve as the Consumer Financial Protection Agency oversight body. “I think you can address the issue of consumer protection, you can do it through existing agencies and authorities that are out there,” Thune said. “And, frankly, I would like to see this particular title in this legislation go away entirely. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.” Senators also rejected an amendment by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that would provide an orderly and transparent bankruptcy process for non-bank financial institutions and prohibit bailout authority. “[W]e believe the bankruptcy code in this country should be made so that it works far better for financial institutions,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) on the Senate floor prior to the vote that rejected the Sessions amendment. Write to Diana Golobay.