In her presentation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s March 30 event, Reuters reports that Elizabeth Warren stressed that funding for the CFPB should be separate from congressional appropriations procedures as is the case with other bank regulators.
Though the Dodd-Frank bill stated the CFPB would be independently funded, GOP lawmakers have proposed subjecting the CFPB’s funding to the appropriations process.
“There is no principled reason for breaking from this historical practice and for stripping the independence of the first banking agency devoted to consumer protection,” said Warren, according to Reuters.
Her speech came before financial sector lobbyists and other of her most vocal opponents, who have criticized the agency’s ballooning budget and lack of congressional oversight. (Read more) The chamber — the biggest and most affluent business lobbying organization in the country — has promoted the concept of a five-member governing panel for the CFPB as opposed to a sole director, according to Reuters. However, Warren stressed in her presentation that both she and the chamber champion business competition in the finance sector.
“The chamber and I have not always seen eye to eye … But I don’t consider myself in hostile territory right now, and that is because I believe we share this principle,” Reuters reports she said.
Reuters commented that Warren’s presentation was “the latest stop in her charm campaign as the administration weighs whether to formally nominate her to be director of the CFPB.”
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon spoke later in the afternoon at the chamber event, warning about of the consequences of the Durbin Amendment.
“The Durbin Amendment is basic price fixing at its worst,” said Dimon. “It basically penalizes us for having debit cards but not small banks.”
He also alleged that the amendment was “basically done in the middle of the night.” Yesterday on March 29, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Benjamin Bernanke told lawmakers that the Fed won’t be able to make the April 21st deadline set forth by the Dodd-Frank Act for establishing new debit card regulations.
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