Political Quotes

“with all respect to the author of this amendment, the amendment would keep consumers in the dark, and financial providers would enjoy it mightily. Section 241 of H.R. 10 includes a noncontroversial and commonsense provision that passed the House last year in similar legislation. It requires all financial services regulatory agencies to prescribe or revise rules to improve the disclosure of commissions, fees, and other costs incurred by consumers in the purchase of financial products. This section does not regulate or limit fees. That would be done by the market. Section 241 merely requires disclosure so consumers can comparison shop on the basis of understandable and accurate disclosure. This helps both competition and consumers. The amendment would delete this disclosure requirement and replace it with a GAO study, a red herring rate regulation that nobody wants or seeks. We do not seek to regulate rates. This bill is already a bust for consumers. We are functioning under a gag rule. But this amendment simply strips the consumers of banking and other financial services of one more right, and that is a right to know what the charges are being assessed against them by the banks and other financial institutions, and in a sense it significantly changes existing law. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”