Chamber: Dodd bill takes "three steps backward"

March 16, 2010

The Hill

Silla Brush

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is striking back hard against financial overhaul legislation unveiled on Monday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

"This bill takes three steps backwards with the hope of making future progress," said David Hirschmann, president of the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

Hirschmann expressed continued concern with efforts to set up a new consumer financial protection office. The Chamber has long campaigned against a standalone Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), as originally proposed by President Barack Obama and passed by the House in December.

Dodd replaced the standalone agency with a consumer protection bureau at the Federal Reserve that would have broad rule-writing powers and enforcement provisions for banks and non-banks with assets in excess of $10 billion.

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