Senate blocks Richard Cordray confirmation to head consumer watchdog agency 8DEZ11

I saw that fotze sen kay bailey-hutchinson r TX on the PBS NewsHour last night and her performance defending the lack of regulation and oversight of financial institutions not regulated by the FED or SEC or any other government agency and her fear-mongering of the power and cost of the CFPB was worthy of a high priced political whore, which is exactly what she is, a whore for the bank-financial cabal and wall street. Know this Kay, most of the country doesn't swallow and doesn't believe the gop / tea-bagger propaganda either. From the WashPost....

By Ylan Q. Mui

Editor’s Note: This post was inadvertantly published early, before the vote. The vote has now occurred.
In a long-awaited vote Thursday morning, Senate Republicans blocked the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee to lead his signature consumer watchdog agency, a move that prevents it from exercising many of its broad new powers.
Republicans relied on a procedural vote to keep the Senate from even considering former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray for the top job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
By a vote of 53 to 45, Senate Democrats were unable to close off debate to allow the confirmation to proceed; 60 votes were needed to end a filibuster and proceed. 
Though GOP lawmakers have praised Cordray’s qualifications for the job -- he currently serves as the CFPB’s director of enforcement -- they have pledged to prevent any candidate from being confirmed unless significant structural change are made to the bureau.
Republicans want the director replaced by a five-member commission and tighter oversight of the agency’s decisions by other regulatory bodies. They are also seeking to subject the CFPB to the congressional appropriations process; currently, it is funded through the Federal Reserve.
Democrats have balked at those requests, leaving the leaderless bureau trapped in a political stalemate. Though the CFPB can enforce existing consumer regulations, it cannot begin oversight of so-called “nonbank” financial institutions such as payday lenders, prepaid card providers and private student lenders until a director is confirmed.
It remains unclear what the next step for the Obama administration will be. The White House has been reluctant to name a director through recess appointment despite pressure to do so by several Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups.
In addition, Republicans have prevented the Senate from going on recess at all, instead holding pro forma sessions aimed at blocking any appointments. According to the Congressional Research Service, the shortest recess during which a presidential appointment has been made in the last 20 years was 10 days. The appointee also could only serve until the next session of Congress; a confirmed CFPB director would serve for five years.
Only two of the 47 Republicans in the Senate did not vote to block Cordray’s confirmation. One was Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who voted “present.” The other was Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who is facing the CFPB’s original architect, Elizabeth Warren, in the 2012 Senate race.
“I disagree with Republicans on this issue,” Brown said in a statement explaining his “yes” vote. “Mr. Cordray deserves an up or down vote, and I look forward to supporting his nomination. Having a leader at the helm is critical at a time when the agency is getting up and running. The unfortunate truth is that there are still bad actors in the financial system who will take advantage of vulnerable people in our society.”
Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.
This story initially misreported one of the Republican senators voting not to block Cordray. It has been corrected.