Scott Brown’s efforts to weaken the Dodd-Frank law

Sen. Scott Brown (R), photo via Boston Globe

Scott Brown has by no means served his constituents as a Right-wing extremist/Tea Partier in his first term as Ted Kennedy’s replacement in the Senate; that may explain why he and Elizabeth Warren are currently engaged in such a tight race up there in Massachusetts. Still, the Boston Globe has done voters a favor this morning by revealing how Sen. Brown first voted for the 2010 Wall Street overhaul and then worked to weaken major provisions.

Noah Bierman and Michael Levenson write:

E-mails between Brown’s legislative director and US Treasury Department officials show that Brown advocated for a loose interpretation of the law so that banks could more easily engage in high-risk investments. 

While the law, known as Dodd-Frank, sets broad parameters for how the financial industry must behave, the interpretation of the law, and the rules that follow, will govern Wall Street’s daily business.

At issue in Brown’s e-mails is the Volcker rule, a particularly contentious provision of Dodd-Frank. The rule, championed by Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, prevents commercial banks from speculating heavily in higher risk 

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