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AFR in the News: Jonathan Riskind: Up at bat, Snowe and Collins balk – but why?

‘It is a little hard for me to understand because Congress debated, the president signed, they (Collins and Snowe) voted for the bill that included the creation of the bureau as one of its centerpieces,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition that includes consumer and civil rights groups and labor unions. ‘The bureau’s powers are significantly restrained until it has a director in place. So it is kind of going back and trying to undo what was done.’

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This Week in Wall Street Reform

Click here to view this week’s highlights and lowlights in Wall Street Reform – December 10, 2011 – December 16, 2011. Note: This Week in Wall Street Reform will not be complied again until January 6, 2012.

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AFR in the News: Consumer groups warn about weakening financial regulations

“A team of consumer groups warned Tuesday that lobbying by Wall Street could weaken proposed regulations designed to guard against the kind of abusive investment practices that crushed the Bethlehem Area School District in recent years. Speaking at a teleconference, representatives of the Consumer Federation of America, the AFL-CIO, Americans for Financial Reform and Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner said well-financed lobbies are working to disarm regulations initially designed to rein them in.”

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AFR in the News: Consumers lose as GOP moves against nominee for new consumer bureau

“…As expected, Republican senators blocked a vote Thursday on whether to approve President Obama’s nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. …A July poll sponsored by AARP, Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending found that about 63% of Americans favored more government oversight of financial companies, and 74% favored having a single agency focus on protecting consumers from financial organizations.”

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AFR Press Statement: Filibuster of Cordray Nomination to lead the CFPB

With this morning’s vote on General Cordray’s nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Senators faced a choice. Would they stand up for fair rules of the road in the consumer financial marketplace, or would they side with the big Wall Street banks, and the bottom feeders in the lending industry?

Unfortunately, 45 Senators chose the latter. With unemployment still above 8.5%, and millions of foreclosures devastating families and communities, they chose to defend the status quo that allowed the deceptive and abusive lending at the heart of the financial crisis to flourish. With people struggling to make ends meet in hard times, they chose to protect payday lenders making 300% ‘debt trap’ loans. Now they are on the record. We do not think their constituents will be pleased.