POLITICO 44

Rep. calls for English-only consumer protection

By VICTORIA MCGRANE | 10/21/09 7:44 PM EDT

Financial reform just wandered into the culture wars.

Democrats erupted over an amendment offered by New York Republican Rep. Chris Lee Wednesday night that would bar the proposed consumer financial protection agency from mandating financial firms provide disclosures in any language other than English.

“In America we are all equal, and we should not allow ourselves to be divided by this notion that one language is better than another,â€