Kay Bailey Hutchison: “Over the past 5 years the Federal Trade Commission has filed over 100 actions against providers of financial services…”

“Over the past 5 years the Federal Trade Commission has filed over 100 actions against providers of financial services, and in the past 10 years the Commission has obtained nearly $1/2 billion in redress for consumers of financial services. In 2009 alone, the FTC and the States, working in close coordination, brought more than 200 cases against firms that pedaled phony mortgage modification and foreclosure rescue scams. Despite these successes, the substitute that is before us would transfer all consumer protection functions of the FTC to the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The FTC, in a bipartisan letter signed by all five Commissioners, has expressed concern that the current Senate language could inadvertently restrict the ability of the FTC to work with this new financial protection bureau to stop unfair and deceptive practices that prey on consumers of financial products and services. The FTC has warned that the current bill, which grants the new agency exclusive rulemaking and enforcement authority in several areas, could even inhibit the FTC's authority in consumer protection with respect to consumer protection laws of nonfinancial products and services.”