Where Do Banking Committee Dems Stand on the CFPA?

We've been tracking the various consumer financial protection compromises coming from the Senate Banking Committee, but it's been hard to say where individual senators stand on the provision. I've been trying to contact the committee's 13 Democrats to get a sense of where they stand on the issue. Chair Chris Dodd is still negotiating, but here's what I've found so far from the other members (this post has been updated as new comment comes in) :

• Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the committee's third-ranking Democrat, is looking to push the Consumer Financial Protection Agency by proposing an amendment to create a new, independent agency, forcing a vote on the issue. While this the most forceful support of the legislation thus far in the senate, the separate vote could make for Democratic defections: The bill needs twelve Democratic votes to pass and it's not clear if that many can be found.This morning, Reed's spokesperson originally pointed me to these comments the senator made to the Providence Journal at the end of February:

  "I'm fighting hard for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which is the best way to ensure that regulators will always put consumers before Wall St. going forward. There must be a sufficiently independent regulator with the tools and authority to focus on protecting consumers. As negotiations continue in the Senate, some proposals may change the form of the agency, but I am hopeful that this body will recognize the importance of consumer protection and will put in place the critical protections we need."

• New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez's spokesperson tells me the senator is still considering the latest proposals, adding that "he has been supportive generally of an independent agency. I don't know what he's heard of this proposal." Menendez, the head of the Senate Democrats' political arm, is key to this discussion if Democrats intend to campaign on protecting consumers next fall.
• Progressive Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown's office says that "Sen. Brown is still reviewing the proposal. He continues to believe that American families need a strong, independent agency whose sole mission is looking out for their financial security." Later, they sent along this statement from the Senator:

  “Predatory lending was at the root of the financial crisis. We need an agency whose sole mission will be protecting American families from unfair financial tricks and traps. The Federal Reserve was asleep on the job for years, and any proposal that protects business as usual at the Fed won’t help working Americans. The new consumer agency must function independently; have strong authority to establish rules, and the power to enforce those rules.”

• Virginia Senator Mark Warner, who worked closely with lead Republican negotiator Bob Corker to develop resolution authorities for the Senate's regulatory overhaul, has no comment, according to his spokesperson.
  
• South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's office points me to the senator's statement from a subscription-only CQ piece:

  “I’m pragmatic about it,” said Tim Johnson of South Dakota, the No. 2 Democrat on the Senate Banking panel, who is in line to become chairman after Dodd retires next year. “It doesn’t matter to me where it is housed so long as it is a substantial improvement.”

• Oregon Senator Michael Bennet wrote an op-ed that included his support of the CFPA in February:

  We need to build on the protections within the CARD Act by creating an independent agency dedicated to protecting consumers affected by the broader financial industry. Our current banking regulators spent little time focusing on consumer protection, which enabled the subprime mortgage industry to spiral out of control. To make matters worse, federal regulators lacked adequate authority to oversee some major subprime lenders like Ameriquest. A robust consumer protection agency will fill these gaps and provide greater safeguards.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14401852#ixzz0h4DVB4Ib
• Oregon's freshmen Senator, Jeff Merkeley, publicly questions putting the consumer protection in the Federal Reserve:

  "The question I would raise is, why the Fed?" said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. "Why put consumer protection back in the Fed after it's been so woefully neglected."

• New York Senator Chuck Schumer offered similar criticisms earlier in the day.

That's two specifically pushing back against the Fed plan, two in favor of an independent agency, two who seem to prefer a stand-alone CFPA but could support a compromise, one pragmatist and one no comment. What's missing, of course, is a champion of an independent agency. I'm still waiting to hear back from other Democrats on the committee.

-- Tim Fernholz