Michigan Reps. vote to weaken consumer protections

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved HR 1315, also called the Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act. The vote was 241-173, with all Michigan Republicans in the House voting for the bill.

The bill would weaken the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a newly established agency, to regulate financial practices by banks and investment firms that put their viability and the entire economy at risk by allowing other agencies to veto the CFPB’s decisions.

Currently, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) can overrule CFPB decisions with a 2/3 vote; under this bill, it could overturn such decisions with a mere majority vote. Consumer watchdog groups oppose the bill while the banks and major investment firms support it.

Maplight, a campaign contribution transparency website, tracks all of the contributions given to House members by those who supported and opposed the bill. The numbers reveal how much those Michigan legislators who voted for the bill received from the banking interests that supported the bill.

Supporters of the bill include the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Consumer Bankers Association and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions. Those opposed include the major unions, Americans for Financial Reform, the Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform. Maplight notes:

• Interest groups that supported this motion (Commercial banks & bank holding companies, Banks & lending institutions, Financial services & consulting, etc.) gave on average 54% more to House members who voted ‘YES’ ($33,191) than to House members who voted ‘NO’ ($21,503). Commercial banks & bank holding companies gave on average 83% more to House members who voted ‘YES’ ($20,949) than to House members who voted ‘NO’ ($11,461).
• Interest groups that opposed this motion (State & local govt employee unions, Minority/Ethnic Groups, Consumer groups, etc.) gave on average 4.1 times as much to House members who voted ‘NO’ ($25,725) as they gave to House members who voted ‘YES’ ($6,250).
• Interest groups that supported this motion gave on average 85% more to House Democrats who voted ‘YES’ ($39,682) than to House Democrats who voted ‘NO’ ($21,438). Commercial banks & bank holding companies gave on average 121% more to House Democrats who voted ‘YES’ ($25,182) than to House Democrats who voted ‘NO’ ($11,403).
• Only one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, voted against the measure.

Here’s the list of what each Michigan legislator received from such interests in 2009 and 2010.

Justin Amash received $25,650 from supporters of the bill and $1,500 from opponents. He voted yes.

Dan Benishek received $18,400 from supporters and $5,316 from opponents. He voted yes.

Dave Camp received $97,800 from supporters and $25,958 from opponents. He voted yes.

Bill Huizenga received $21,300 from supporters and $1,500 from opponents. He voted yes.

That McCotter received $45,000 from supporters and $6,700 from opponents. He voted yes.

Candice Miller received $22,100 from supporters and $1,000 from opponents. She voted yes.

Mike Rogers received $37,650 from supporters and $4,000 from opponents. He voted yes.

Fred Upton received $32,460 from supporters and $5,400 from opponents. He voted yes.

Tim Walberg received $13,400 from supporters and $2,500 from opponents. He voted yes.

Hansen Clarke received $5,250 from supporters and $17,050 from opponents. He voted no.

John Conyers received $250 from supporters and $9,000 from opponents. He voted no.

John Dingell received $7,000 from supporters and $21,250 from opponents. He voted no.

Dale Kildee received $8,500 from supporters and $28,100 from opponents. He voted no.

Gary Peters received $69,150 from supporters and $74,664 from opponents. He voted no.