Barney Frank: “What we have is, as the statements that I am submitting show, the Republicans wanted last year to maintain the status…”

“What we have is, as the statements that I am submitting show, the Republicans wanted last year to maintain the status quo in which the regulators of the banks--whose job it is, according to the Republican chairman of the committee, to serve the banks--would maintain this. And they worry about an institution whose sole goal is to protect consumers. He says, We don't worry about the Federal Reserve, we don't worry about the FDIC, we worry about an institution whose sole goal is to protect the consumers. They do understand that politically it's not a good idea to be fully straightforward about their intention--when they would really like to repeal it--but what they are trying to do instead today is substantially weaken it. And the most important thing they will do will be to put back in charge of the independent consumer regulator the very bank regulators who historically have not protected the consumer-- because some of them agreed with the chairman of the committee, the Republican chairman, that their job was to serve the banks--and it would substantially weaken consumer protection. I do not think that is the right way to go. Excerpts From the Financial Services Committee October 2009 Markup of H.R. 3126, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act Rep.…”