The Senate Banking Committee will vote Tuesday morning on the re-nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a Dodd-Frank agency designed by Massachusetts senator and Banking Committee member Elizabeth Warren.
Though Democrats outnumber Republicans on the committee 12 to 10, a strict party-line vote, which insiders expect, will still not bring Cordray’s nomination to a full Senate vote.
43 Republican senators have pledged to block a vote on Cordray’s nomination, citing structural concerns with the CFPB, which was designed by then-Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren and enacted by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law in 2010.
Republicans object to the wide-ranging power Cordray wields, preferring a commission rather than a director to run the agency. Republicans also object to the fact that the CFPB’s budget is funded by the Federal Reserve, and thus exists outside of the standard congressional appropriations process.
Cordray, who was appointed by President Barack Obama last year in a recess appointment to avoid Republican opposition, has never been confirmed by the Senate.
Warren has blasted Republican efforts to block a confirmation vote, saying, “they know they still don’t have the votes to weaken the agency — and so they are determined to hold Rich Cordray hostage. Never before in American history has a minority in the Senate blocked a nominee to try to get changes in a law they don’t like and don’t have the votes to change.”
Though Senate Democrats blocked or filibustered numerous Bush administration judicial nominees over issues like gay marriage, Warren’s point resonated with fellow members of her party. 52 Senate Democrats and liberal independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King signed a letter to Obama opposing any structural changes to the CFPB.
CFPB’s authority over the private sector is wide-ranging and vague, and intensely focused on using modern technology to gather information about companies.
“In addition to establishing the CFPB’s enforcement powers, the (Dodd-Frank law) gives the CFPB the authority to supervise and examine many financial institutions that were not previously subject to Federal oversight, such as nonbank mortgage companies, payday lenders, and private education lenders,” according to the agency’s website.
One of the agency’s stated goals is to “develop a rule-writing team with highly advanced skills in relevant and specialized legal and business areas.”
The agency places special value on technology and information-gathering.
“The CFPB is a data-driven agency. We take in data, manage it, store it, share it appropriately, and protect it from unauthorized access,” according to the agency’s website. “Technology will be core to the CFPB accomplishing its mission. This means developing and leveraging technology to enhance the CFPB’s reach, impact and effectiveness. We strive to be recognized as an innovative, 21st century agency whose approach to technology serves as a beacon for all of government.”
The Banking Committee will also vote Tuesday on Obama’s nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.