Dodd: Warren to Be Named Advisor of Consumer Agency, Not Chief

A spokesperson for Warren told AdvisorOne that she was currently not available for press interviews. The creation of the CFPB, where it would be housed, and what authority it would have was a major sticking point for lawmakers who were part of the conference debate on the Dodd-Frank Act. In early August, a group of 141 leading law and other professors from across the U.S. sent a letter to Obama encouraging him to appoint Warren as CFPB chief.

Corker continued in his letter that “it is a key responsibility of the U.S. Senate and its committees of jurisdiction to advise and consent and one that I believe was not meant to be abdicated by the Executive Branch’s use of appointments. I strongly believe the intent of the Dodd-Frank legislation was to have the head of this bureau go through the nomination, vetting and confirmation process.”

The nomination, vetting, and confirmation process, Corker said, “is an important tool to ensure that a qualified, nonpartisan individual will head this agency and be accountable to Congress, taxpayers and the safety and soundness of the banking system of this country in the face of tenuous economic conditions.”

Corker went on to say that the person who heads the new agency will have “…unfettered and unchecked authorities, which makes the confirmation process even more important to the interests of the American people. The individual who heads this bureau will be able to make rules, with ultimately no checks and balances, that could have broad reaching implications for the U.S. economy as it relates to accessing credit, social justice and the safety and soundness of the U.S. banking system.” The job of CFPB chief, he said, “is disproportionately reliant on the decisions of one individual with access to large sums of taxpayer monies to carry out the agency agenda. Taxpayers deserve better stewardship in the determination of who will take on this responsibility.”