Bob Menendez: “I think we need to be 100 percent clear about one thing; that is, we need to pass a consumer protection bill-- not a…”

“I think we need to be 100 percent clear about one thing; that is, we need to pass a consumer protection bill-- not a Wall Street protection bill--with a strong independent agency that can aggressively defend families in all sectors of the financial industry. That is consumer protection. A weak agency that cannot defend families against commercial banks, investment banks, credit card companies, car dealers, payday lenders, and entities such as AIG, that is Wall Street protection. The fact is, the Republicans' proposal on this issue seems to symbolize America's worst fears about how the powerful operate--the powerful protecting the powerful. The problem isn't that families have too much protection on Wall Street; the problem is they have not been protected enough. The Shelby substitute is just the status quo. It is a cynical attempt to pretend they are doing consumer protection. In reality, it is meant to make sure there is no meaningful consumer protection at the end of the day. It willfully ignores the lessons we should have learned: that left to their own devices, there are lenders who can and will take advantage of consumers.”