White House:Obama To Fight For Consumer Financial Protection
Agency
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The White House warned Congress not to water down
proposed legislation creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, but
stopped short of saying President Barack Obama would veto a bill that excludes
the new regulator.
"This is a big concern of the president's and a big concern of the
administration," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
"I think we have seen what happens, whether it's credit-card companies,
mortgage companies. We now see it more in stories covering charges for bank
overdrafts and the amount of money that costs the American people each year,"
Gibbs added. "The American people deserve an advocate on their behalf dealing
with these entities."
The regulatory overhaul, one of the administration's top legislative
priorities for the remainder of the year, is designed to strengthen the lax
oversight that many believe led to the financial crisis. One of the revamp's
main planks is the new agency to monitor things like predatory lending and
abusive credit-card practices.
But the proposal has come under stiff resistance from the banking sector and
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who say the new agency would restrict the flow of
credit.
Gibbs said Obama wouldn't back down from a fight over the agency.
"The president will fight for (this) and fight against anybody, any special
interests, who don't see it as an important part of financial regulatory reform,
" he said.
He said Obama wouldn't sign a bill he believes is "too weak," but wouldn't
issue a veto threat.
"We're confident it will be in a bill that he is able to sign," Gibbs said.
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-29-091448ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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