Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Republican side has submitted a consumer protection amendment that can be briefly summarized: Buyer beware because they won't help you. This flows from the very simple premise that they have announced from the very beginning of these discussions and deliberations they do not want an independent consumer protection agency that has the authority to make rules and enforce rules to protect consumers. So what they have suggested is a classic bait and switch. We will create an ``agency'' within the FDIC, and then we will deny them the power to regulate most of the financial sectors and institutions that affect the daily lives of Americans: payday lenders, car loans, all those things. They are just off the table. So it amounts to a gesture, not good legislative policy. We are working, and we have been working--and Senator Dodd has taken the lead--to ensure that there is real consumer protection built into this Wall Street reform legislation. We believe consumers need information to make good choices. The thrust of our efforts is to ensure that the agency is able to provide that information through simplified forms, through simple products, through those mechanisms that allow men and women who are engaged in raising children, keeping jobs, coaching Little League, to understand what they are putting their resources into. That is not what the Republican amendment is proposing to do.…”