Elizabeth Warren Expresses Guarded Support For Dodd FinReg Bill UPDATE: Sen. Brown, Too
Firedoglake – Copies of the “American Financial Stability Act of 2010″ summary and legislation are out, as well as a transcript of Chairman Dodd’s prepared statement. And he seems to have picked up some important support: Elizabeth Warren, the brainchild behind the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and a key progressive on financial regulation.
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For Dodd’s purposes, it’s much better for him to have Warren on board early, rather than the opposite. But she won’t quietly give up on her efforts to push the CFPA in a stronger direction.
UPDATE: Sen. Sherrod Brown also goes the cautious optimism route in his statement. Brown sits on the Banking Committee.
“Wall Street banks – and some of their allies on Capitol Hill – are intent on blocking meaningful reform. They’ll attempt to slow-walk the bill, water it down, or kill it through delay. After months of discussion, Chairman Dodd is right to press forward. For the past decade, Ohioans have been ripped off by predatory lenders and whole neighborhoods have been hollowed out. It is past time to act.
“It is clear we need an independent consumer protection agency with robust authority to prevent shady practices. We need to prevent future taxpayer bailouts by ensuring one bank cannot trigger the collapse of our financial system. We need to fix our credit rating agencies – which fell asleep on the job and let Wall Street peddle junk investments. And we need to get tough on banks that use risky financial instruments that jeopardize our financial system. These financial ‘weapons of mass destruction’ should be treated as such.
“Special interests will fight tooth and nail against real financial reform. If they win, middle class taxpayers lose.”