Consumer Bureau chief vows cooperation with skeptical Republicans – Charles S. Clark (Government Executive)
January 25, 2012

“Hours before he was praised as a consumer watchdog in President Obama’s State of the Union address, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray on Tuesday fulfilled a promise and testified to a House panel led by Republicans openly skeptical of his recent recess appointment.  Though officials of the government’s newest agency had appeared before Congress a dozen times during the past 18 months, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee handling financial services, opened the hearing by saying, ‘despite an appointment that is constitutionally questionable, [Cordray should] deliver definitive responses about how he will implement and enforce the unparalleled powers of his new office.’ Cordray said he was proceeding with full confidence in the validity of his appointment, preparing to step up enforcement against dishonest businesses and implementing his agency’s hiring push, which comes at a time of constrained federal hiring. ‘My vision for the consumer bureau is that it will work to make consumer financial markets operate fairly in order to protect consumers, support honest businesses and play a crucial role in helping to safeguard the overall economy,’ he said. …Asked to evaluate Cordray’s performance, John Carey, spokesman for the consumer coalition called Americans for Financial Reform, said: ‘There are reasons that Director Cordray received a wide range of support, across the political spectrum, from those that know and worked with him in Ohio. He is fair, tough and thoughtful, and those traits were on full display yesterday.’” Click here for more.