Gregg: Warren will promote 'social justice' at consumer agency
By Michael O'Brien - 09/16/10 12:21 PM ET

A top Republican on financial issues said Thursday he was concerned that Elizabeth Warren would use a position in a new consumer protection agency to promote "social justice."

Gregg, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Banking Committee, expressed dismay at President Obama's decision to tap Warren as a key "adviser" to help set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency established in the Wall Street reform bill.

"My concern is that she would use the agency for the purpose of promoting social justice," Gregg said on ABC's "Top Line" webcast. The agency, Gregg said, should promote improving access to credit, as well as other financial services.

Warren picked to oversee creation of consumer bureau
Dodd 'fine' with Warren as special adviser to consumer boar
Gregg and other Republican senators had opposed the robustness of the new consumer agency during the extended debate over Wall Street reform in the Senate. Now that the agency is up and running, Obama has been looking for a new figure to begin the agency's operations.

Warren had been the chairwoman of the oversight board for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and had pushed in that capacity for the creation of the new bureau.

Liberals had ramped up pressure on Obama and some Democrats in favor of Warren, but Republicans and some Democrats — most notably Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (Conn.) — had raised questions about her confirmability and relative fitness for the position.

Gregg lambasted Obama for picking Warren as an unconfirmable "adviser," calling the selection a "terrible adulteration of the process."

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... 2#comments

Warren picked to oversee creation of consumer bureau
By Silla Brush and Sam Youngman - 09/15/10 06:47 PM ET

President Obama will name Elizabeth Warren to a position overseeing the creation of a new federal consumer financial protection office, according to a Democratic source.


The move will allow Warren, who originally pushed for the office as part of new financial regulations, to bypass full Senate confirmation. Warren would report to Obama and the Treasury Department, according to ABC News, which first reported the decision.


Warren would have faced a tough confirmation battle amid opposition from many Republicans.


Most Democrats and consumer advocacy groups have been urging the president to nominate Warren as the full-time head of the bureau.


"While this is good news for American families, it is my hope that President Obama will nominate Warren to a permanent position," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement on Wednesday.


Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) criticized the move, saying the intent of the financial legislation, "was to have the head of this bureau go through the nomination, vetting and confirmation process."

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has also said he wants the head of the office to go through a confirmation process.

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/b ... on-adviser