Washington: the Financial Services subcommittee’s inquisition of Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren

After the financial meltdown that began under the Bush Administration, you’d think congressional leaders of whatever party affiliation would be embarrassed to publicly suggest that banks and mortgage companies could better serve consumers without oversight or regulation.

But that’s what Republicans were shamelessly selling Wednesday during a Financial  Services subcommittee’s inquisition of Elizabeth Warren. 

Never mind the ongoing exposure of  the financial sector's under-regulated culpability in triggering the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Zach Carter reports from the Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON -- In a hearing marked by openly hostile questioning from House Republicans, consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren made her highly anticipated first appearance before Congress as a member of the Obama administration, emphasizing the need for stronger oversight of big banks and small mortgage firms.

Warren, who is currently tasked with setting up the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, was subjected to two and a half hours of inquiry before a Financial Services subcommittee regarding her role at the emerging agency and the scope of its powers. In her testimony, she focused on the need for easily-understood consumer lending terms and stronger enforcement of predatory lending regulations.

"I don't care how big you are, I don't care who you your friends are, everybody follows the law," Warren said, adding later, "What this agency is about is making the prices clear, making the risks clear, making it easy to compare one product to another. The point is to get an informed consumer, because I believe that American families are good at making decisions when they have good information upfront."

Carter’s report continues:

Congressional Republicans attempted to portray Warren as the "unaccountable" head of a bureaucracy immune from oversight from Congress or federal agencies. Republicans are waging a two-front war on the CFPB, hoping to cut its funding and weigh down its rulemaking procedures by replacing its single director with a five-member board of directors.

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