Press Releases
Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement about the President’s announcement that he will recess appoint Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
Washington, DC,
January 4, 2012
The President’s appointment of Richard Cordray to be the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for congratulations – both to the President, and to American consumers who will now get the fullest measure of the protection promised to them in the Financial Reform bill which we passed last year. Republican’s complaints about the President’s decision to make this recess appointment are equivalent to objections leveled by arsonists at people who use the fire door to escape a burning building.
The President’s appointment of Richard Cordray to be the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls for congratulations – both to the President, and to American consumers who will now get the fullest measure of the protection promised to them in the Financial Reform bill which we passed last year. Republican’s complaints about the President’s decision to make this recess appointment are equivalent to objections leveled by arsonists at people who use the fire door to escape a burning building.
Having failed legislatively to block the creation of an independent – independent from undue influence from the financial industry – consumer bureau, Republican Senators bent the Constitution out of shape by hijacking the confirmation process to weaken the Consumer Bureau in ways they were unable to do through legislative process.
President Obama has responded in an entirely appropriate way to their refusing to consider a nomination, not because of any flaws in the nominee, but because they are frustrated that they are unable to repeal, or weaken, a duly passed statute. Even the most extreme opponents of consumer protection have not raised any serious objection to Mr. Cordray’s qualifications, and he has in fact been supported in a bipartisan way by many of those with whom he has worked when he was Attorney General of Ohio.
The installation of Mr. Cordray as Director means that consumers can now be protected against a full array of financial practices. This does not mean that the majority of payday lenders, or check cashers, or people involved in transmitting cash remittances are dishonest or unscrupulous. It does mean that in any business, there will be those who will try to take unfair advantage of consumers, and those consumers will now have a strong, well-constructed independent agency to which they can turn in those cases.
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