By Jennifer Liberto. Excerpt:
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — As Congress starts debating how to deal with financial firms deemed “too big too fail,” some lawmakers and advocates are worried about giving the executive branch expansive new powers over the financial sector.
“Mr. Secretary, I’m not a man that fears this administration or you,” Rep. Paul Kanjorksi, D-Pa., told Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner this week. “But I do fear the accumulation of power exercised by someone in the future that can be extraordinary.” …
“The idea that the Treasury should assume such a large role is, in my view, a problem, ” said Jane D’Arista, for Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of consumer advocate groups and labor unions. “The council should have more responsibility, and I don’t think it should be under the thumb of the Treasury.”