President Obama appointed Richard Cordray, who once worked as a lawyer in a
company, as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The new government agency says it has already made home loans and credit card
agreements easier for Americans to understand. But the Obama administration said
the bureau cannot supervise financial products like home loans without a
director.
The president used a measure known as a recess appointment to fill
the position. He nominated Mr. Cordray last July. But the opposition Republican
Party blocked a vote in the full Senate.
Mr. Obama announced the appointment
Wednesday during a visit to Ohio. It was his first political campaign trip of
the year. He told the crowd that the severe economic crisis three years ago did
not happen because of too many financial rules.
BARRACK OBAMA: "That makes no
sense. Does anyone think the reason why we got into such a financial mess, the
worst financial crisis since the great depression, the worst economic crisis in
a generation, that the reason was because of too much oversight of the financial
industry? Of course not. We shouldn't be weakening oversight, we shouldn't be
weakening accountability, we should be strengthening it!"
Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the president's appointment. Many Republicans
oppose the new agency, saying its goals are not clear. They also want a group of
people to lead the agency instead of a single director.
The Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau resulted from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act of twenty ten. Its goal is to make the market for
financial products safer. Educating Americans about investment and loan
products, enforcing financial laws and studying financial information all are
part of its duties. The agency's budget is expected to be around five hundred
million dollars.
Richard Cordray served as Ohio's Attorney General for two
years. He has earned praise for bringing legal action against banks and
financial companies accused of harming homeowners and borrowers. Mr. Condray
launched cases against Bank of America and insurer AIG. His recess appointment
is effective only until the end of the Senate's current term.
