Consumer Protection
More on Consumer Protection
by Zach Carter
A cadre of top Democrats said Wednesday that heavy Wall Street speculation was driving up gas prices and blasted Republicans for pushing a new bill to delay any crackdown on such speculation until the end of 2012.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, delivered the following remarks at a press conference on HR 1573 today outside the U.S. Capitol:
"Thank you, Ranking Member Frank.
I'm pleased to join you and my other Democratic colleagues here today to, once again, stand up and speak out about the increasingly brazen attempts by the GOP to slowly but surely dismantle the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
African Americans still represent a miniscule fraction of board-level corporate leadership in America. The National Urban League, in partnership with Advance America, has established a new training program to give other qualified African Americans the opportunity to follow in their footsteps.
By Marc H. Morial
What do American Express, Merck, Xerox, Darden Restaurants, and Citibank have in common?
All are Fortune 500 companies headed by African Americans: Ken Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express; Ken Frazier, President and CEO of Merck; Ursula Burns, Chairwoman and CEO of Xerox – the first African American woman to head a Fortune 500 company; Clarence Otis, President and CEO of Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Red Lobster and Olive Garden; and Dick Parsons, former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner, Inc., now Chairman of Citibank.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and the African American Members of the House Financial Services Committee (known as the FS 10) were recently honored by the Black Press of America and the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation (NNPAF) with the 2011 Political Leadership Award for their work during negotiations for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The Congresswoman and Congressman William Lacy Clay, Jr. accepted the award on behalf of the FS 10 at an event last week at a Newsmaker Dinner and Gala at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the Subcommittee, issued the following opening statement:
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening this hearing today to examine the potential for creating a covered bond market in the United States.
Today we convene to discuss covered bonds, and Representative Garret's covered bond bill, H.R. 940.
by Charles J. Lewis
Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, a veteran of Wall Street and housing finance, says he hopes to play a major role in the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two failed government-sponsored companies that have helped homebuyers get mortgages, but which are now in government custody.
Last week, the Obama administration urged Congress to consider options on reforming the two companies, which have cost taxpayers $154 billion so far, making them the most expensive bailout in the financial crisis.
`To play an active role'
By Stacy Kaper
Of all the things missing from a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the inconclusive Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report on the causes of the financial meltdown, the most obvious was any sense of irony.
Lawmakers' chief criticism of the report — that it broke down into a partisan skirmish with a fractured and confusing narrative about the causes of the crisis — was only mimicked and amplified by their own behavior.
Republicans criticized a government report on the causes of the 2008 financial crisis as biased and political on Wednesday. Democrats fired back that Republicans want to roll back federal regulations of the financial industry.
by Peter Schroeder
A hearing intended to explore the underpinnings of the financial crisis provided a fresh opportunity for lawmakers to fight ongoing partisan battles.
Six of the ten members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) appeared before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday to discuss the panel's report, which marks the first official governmental take on the financial crisis that drove the recession.