While the GOP nomination circus is going on there is still a country to be run and people might want to know a few of the things going on. The debt issue is still a mess. And President Obama continues to ignore the foundations of our governmental system.

Today, the President bypassed the Senate confirmation process and installed Richard Cordray as the new head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A few choice quotes from the President today:

• “I refuse to take `no’ for an answer” – well, this about sums it up. There are checks and balances in the system so that a single person cannot ramrod things through or into the government if they don’t want to take no for an answer. Furthermore, what kind of statement is this? He sounds like a 3-year old who was just told that they can’t buy a gumball from the grocery store’s 25-cent machines.

• “Every day that we waited was another day when millions of Americans are left unprotected,” Obama. Completely false. There are plenty of protections in place for Americans when it comes to financial matters, including in varying degrees: the FDIC, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, and the SIPC. The CFPB has a pretty broad range of rules that it has authority over, including (with some caveats):

The Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR Part 310) and Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations (16 CFR Part 429), as well as rules pertaining to the Preservation of Consumers’ Claims and Defenses (16 CFR Part 433), Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise (16 CFR 435), and Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising and Business Opportunities (16 CFR Parts 436 and 437).
The Department of Housing and Urban Development rules regarding Land Registration (24 CFR Part 1710) and Purchasers’ Revocation Rights, Sales Practices, and Standards (24 CFR Part 1715).
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 24 CFR Part 3500.
The rules regarding the privacy of consumer financial information currently enforced by the Fed, the FDIC, the OCC and the OTS.

• Until Cordray took over, the office didn’t have all the tools needed “to protect consumers against dishonest mortgage brokers or payday lenders, and debt collectors who are taking advantage of consumers,” Obama said. “And that’s inexcusable. It’s wrong.” – again, a stretch at a minimum. The bureau formed up mid-2011 and issued it’s first rule for public comment on May 31, 2011. It seems like they could function without Cordray and begin to provide the “protections” that this administration is touting.

Before everyone gets bent out of shape there are a few details here to clarify:

1.  Yes, the Bureau has already been formed by Dodd’s bill.  This won’t change that.
2.  Recess appointments have been made by republican and democrat presidents before and are legal.
3.  Obama is accusing the Senate GOP of blocking his appointments by their pro-forma sessions intended to not technically allow for a senate recess.  This practice was started by the democrats under President Bush.  So instead of meeting with the GOP to discuss the issue, the President chose this action.  Obama’s own Justice Department has previously argued that recess appointments cannot be made during breaks shorter than three days.  Which he just did.

Keep an eye on the White House and what it tries to do amidst the GOP nomination process.

GorT

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