"Taking The Bull By The Horns", President Obama Appoints Cordray As CFPB Director

consumeraffairs.com

Hooray for the President.  He is finally getting it.  If Congress won't play ball, play by yourself!  Today, President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Blocked from having a leader by the Senate confirmation process, this agency has been without a leader for their first six months preventing it from yielding all of their power and authority.  Critical among these is supervising financial institutions other than big banks such as nonbank mortgage lenders, payday lenders, student loan providers, debt collectors, check cashers and the like. 

politico.com

Republicans and their cronies at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are already crying in their soup over President Obama's recess appointment of Cordray.  They recognize that these financial institutions will now have someone watching over their shoulder making sure that they operate fairly and with transparency.  With a Director in place, the Bureau will now be able to regulate mortgage originators and servicers.  These are our good friends and neighbors who took center stage in the financial crisis loaning money, mortgage money,  to anyone that applied even though they would be unable to pay.

"When Congress refuses to act and as a result hurts our economy and puts people at risk, I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them, " Obama said.  "I will not stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people they were elected to serve."  That statement along with his appointment of Cordray, President Obama took the "bull by the horns" and continued his push to shape the conversation on our economy.  His efforts are being reflected in growing consumer confidence.

Republicans can cry foul all they want but recess appointments are within the purvey of the President.  The only reason the Bureau hasn't had a director is that the Republicans don't want the Bureau to have any teeth.  They have done everything within their power to keep President Obama from having  key leaders within the administration.  I applaud the President for taking this action and making something good happen. 

This Bureau goes a long way toward preventing many of the problems that our American middle class and poor families can experience from predatory lending.  The educational arm of the Bureau has already made significant strides with the "Know Before You Owe" campaign.  Simple education goes a long way for unsuspecting Americans including the thousands of senior citizens who are taken advantage of every year. 

Look for the Republicans led by Mitch McConnell and John Boehner to challenge President Obama's recess appointment by taking it to the courts.  They don't have a prayer as presidents of both parties have been making recess appointments for a very long time.  I applaud not only President Obama's appointment during the congressional recess but also for the man he appointed, Richard Cordray.