The drumbeat for Warren continues:

Consumer advocates, labor unions, liberal groups, scores of Democratic lawmakers, even the National Organization for Women, have urged President Obama to nominate Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

On Wednesday, Warren got a little love from the GOP side of the aisle, if not an outright endorsement for the job.

The two Republican appointees to the Congressional Oversight Panel, the group chaired by Warren that oversees the government's $700 billion bank bailout program, issued a statement saying that while they disagreed with many of Warren's views and opposed the creation of the consumer watchdog, they had found their dealings with her "to be collegial and professional."

The pair praised Warren for conducting exhaustive investigations into the federal government's rescue of firms such as American International Group and GMAC, even when those reviews produced results that didn't always shine a glowing light on the Treasury Department.

"It is important to note that the panel has been critical of policies and decisions implemented by Democrats and Republicans alike," wrote University of Kentucky economics Professor Kenneth Troske and J. Mark McWatters, a Dallas lawyer and certified public accountant, who serve on the five-member panel. "There is great virtue in that because, while it is easy to question the decisions made by members of the other political party, it takes courage to publicly question the decisions made by members of your own party."

They added, "We often debate a wide variety of issues with Professor Warren and have found her quite willing to modify her views if presented with well-reasoned, cogent arguments."

It's up to the White House whether to appoint an industry shill or a watchdog like Elizabeth Warren.

Washington insider publication The Hill reports that the White House is sending signals of support for Elizabeth Warren and that she is confirmable. The Hill:

The White House on Monday gave the strongest signal yet that it may pick Elizabeth Warren to head a new consumer bureau created by the Wall Street reform bill.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday said Warren is “very confirmable” for a position in charge of the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).


Gibbs dismissed criticism that Warren — the chairwoman of a congressional panel overseeing the 2008 Wall Street bailout — is not well-qualified to run the bureau, which was created by the Wall Street overhaul bill President Obama signed last week.

“I think Elizabeth Warren is a terrific candidate,” Gibbs said at his daily press briefing. “And I think she’s very confirmable for this job.”

Our pressure is working:

The White House is under heavy pressure from the left to nominate Warren. Liberal activists and a number of Democrats in Congress believe putting her in charge of the new office would give it real authority in fighting excesses and abuses in the financial services industry. 


Keep it up. We need a watchdog, not a shill heading up the CFPA.

The Los Angeles Times highlighted a little reported, yet critically important piece of Wall Street Reform:

Tucked in the massive bill is a provision that for the first time extends a concept long applied to government contracts to the private sector. It gives whistle-blowers a mandatory 10% — and as much as 30% — of what the government recoups in fines and settlements in financial fraud cases. These can include insider trading, false earnings reports and classic Ponzi schemes…

Some corporate lawyers say the bounty provisions are the most important but least noticed parts of the new law. They have been overshadowed by the focus on new regulations for banks and the new consumer protection agency.

Cash for whistle blowers. This provides an incentive for whistle blowers to expose corporate wrongdoing.

...with strong endorsement of Elizabeth Warren:

President Obama should nominate Elizabeth Warren to head the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and not only because of her credentials . . .

The banks don’t oppose Ms. Warren because she doesn’t get it. They oppose her because she does.

Read the full article.

Good:

With the financial system on the verge of collapse in late 2008, a group of troubled banks doled out more than $2 billion in bonuses and other payments to their highest earners. Now, the federal authority on banker pay says that nearly 80 percent of that sum was unmerited.

In a report to be released on Friday, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Obama administration’s special master for executive compensation, is expected to name 17 financial companies that made questionable payouts totaling $1.58 billion immediately after accepting billions of dollars of taxpayer aid, according to two government officials with knowledge of his findings who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the report.

The group includes Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs [GS 147.66 1.11 (+0.76%) ], JPMorgan Chase [JPM 39.76 0.41 (+1.04%) ] and the American International Group [AIG 36.8693 0.3793 (+1.04%) ] as well as small lenders like Boston Private Financial Holdings [BPFH 7.00 0.15 (+2.19%) ]. Mr. Feinberg’s report points to companies that he says paid eye-popping amounts or used haphazard criteria for awarding bonuses, the people with knowledge of his findings said, and he has singled out Citigroup [C 4.03 -0.06 (-1.47%) ] as the biggest offender.

Millions of Americans suffered because of the financial games the banks played. We bailed them out. And, now, they're laughing all the way to the bank. These banksters need to be held accountable. We must continue to push for reform.

The Boston Globe chimes in with a powerful editorial.

ONE OBVIOUS reason President Obama should pick Elizabeth Warren to lead the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is that the new agency was her idea to begin with. Created as a unit of the Federal Reserve by the recent financial-reform bill, the agency will have the ability to set rules for credit cards, loans, and other financial “products’’ that banks and similar institutions offer to consumers. It needs a leader who has a passion for protecting consumer interests — and who recognizes that doing so contributes to the health of the financial system. Warren is easily the best candidate for the position.

Warren, a Harvard Law School professor, has conducted extensive research on bankruptcy, predatory lending, and other consumer-finance issues. Throughout her tenure as head of a panel appointed by Congress to provide oversight of the federal bailout funds, Warren has sought to connect the machinations of the financial system with the struggles of average families. She raised early alarms about subprime mortgages, and her work casts light on how a deliberate obscurity in the terms of credit cards and mortgages contributed to an unsustainable growth of consumer debt.

Her activism over the years has contributed to fears on Wall Street that the consumer-protection agency she inspired will create a vast new regulatory burden. And to be sure, the regulatory system shouldn’t discourage financial innovations that promote greater efficiency and transparency. Yet the subprime loans and sneaky fees that proliferated before the 2008 economic meltdown had precisely the opposite effect. If the fate of the modern financial firm depends on its ability to enmesh consumers in transactions that ill serve their interests, those consumers are in danger — but so is Wall Street and the economy as a whole.

The choice is clear. Wall Street opposes Warren. Do you stand with them?

We need Elizabeth Warren. David Weidner makes the case in the Wall Street Journal:

There really is no other choice. Ms. Warren, a Harvard Law School Professor who has been chairing the House Oversight Committee minding TARP's progress has been the CPFA's biggest proponent since she floated the idea in 2007. Giving the job to someone else would be like letting Steve Jobs come up with the iPad and then giving it to Microsoft Corp. to market. You'd almost certainly lose the soul.

Ms. Warren has spent the last few years of her career preparing for this moment. She's written about the devastating effects of bankruptcy on U.S. households and has given countless interviews. Consumer protection as a part of financial reform has been her single biggest legacy in Washington, save perhaps for her testy public exchanges about TARP with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Wouldn't you know it, that sometimes confrontational relationship has led to speculation that Mr. Geithner was lobbying against Ms. Warren behind the scenes. It's a charge the Treasury Department denies, but not out of the realm of possibility, given Mr. Geithner's public scrapes with her about TARP and his likely support of Michael S. Barr, assistant Treasury Secretary, who is reportedly on the short list.

Even with Mr. Geithner's support or his ambivalence, Ms. Warren seems to have worn out her Washington welcome. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Chris Dodd (D.,-Conn.) on Monday openly wondered whether Ms. Warren would get enough votes for confirmation should she be nominated. "The question is, 'Is she confirmable?'" Sen. Dodd told NPR's Diane Rehm show. "And there's a serious question about it."

Edward Yingling, chief executive of the American Bankers Association, said there's "tremendous concern" in the industry over Ms. Warren's possible nomination. State banking groups in Virginia and Nebraska have vocally opposed her nomination. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent millions on an ad campaign against the protection agency.

Good. We don't need an financial industry shill regulating the financial industry. We need a real independent watchdog. There's no better choice than Elizabeth Warren.

Today was an historic day.

We did it. Heather Booth of Americans for Financial Reform celebrates:

With his signature, President Obama ushers in a sea change after decades when the big banks were allowed to write their own rules, take advantage of consumers, and collect huge bonuses for themselves while leaving the rest of us to pay the costs of their recklessness. The financial reform legislation will empower consumers by putting an independent advocate on their side when it comes to buying homes and managing their credit. Banks and other financial institutions will no longer be allowed to gamble with our money for their profit, and risky investments will be forced out into the light of day. Families and businesses alike will benefit from increased transparency and security, and from pushing banks away from speculation and towards making sound loans.

We applaud the President and Congress for their leadership in guiding this legislation into law, a clear victory for Main Street. We look forward to ensuring that these strong reforms are implemented with all Americans in mind.

Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we get back to work.

All across America, people are cheering the passage of the most comprehensive overhaul of our financial system since the Great Depression. Newspapers are chiming in as well. Here are some highlights:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial: Wall Street reform: Congress makes the proper response to crisis, July 19: “The nation's gravest financial crisis since the Depression demanded a government response that was just as wide-ranging. The financial overhaul bill proposed by the Obama administration and finally approved by the Senate on Thursday provided such a response. Advocates argue credibly that the bill would reform Wall Street, protect consumers and make another crisis less likely. Rather than enshrine future taxpayer bailouts of faltering banks, as its critics charge it would do, the measure would discourage such bailouts, since banks would have to hold larger reserves to guard against losses.”

Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: 'Kumbaya' it wasn't, July 19: “No GOP senator from a state south of the Massachusetts Turnpike voted for the bill, which calls for the most significant overhaul of financial rules since the Great Depression. This legislation is Washington's needed response to Wall Street's reckless habits, which helped to cause the financial meltdown of 2008. … Big banks will be required to set aside more capital to protect against bad loans. Trading of complex derivatives will be forced onto more transparent exchanges. Shareholders of public companies will be given a nonbinding vote on executive pay packages.”

Roanoke Times Editorial: Wall Street reform passes, July 19: “…the legislation creates mechanisms in the Treasury Department to monitor the financial sector for systemic threats and to dismantle "too-big-to-fail" firms in an orderly and less disruptive manner, and without taxpayer dollars. These are all good measures that will strengthen oversight of the financial system and give regulators more ability to deal with a crisis before it becomes acute…Oddly, the vast majority of Republicans opposed this -- and are already threatening to repeal the law if they regain control of Congress in November… Why would the GOP oppose something that is so clearly necessary? Money and politics.”

Las Vegas Sun Editorial: The Do-Nothing Party, July 18: “On Thursday, after the Senate passed the bill, Republican leaders tried to scare the public by claiming that the bill will hurt the economy... Republican opposition to this legislation is stupefying. The legislation is intended to correct the problems and help the average American. For example, the legislation includes new consumer protections and cracks down on risky investment deals. It also ends the need for bailouts by giving regulators ways to deal with the “too big to fail” financial firms. Still, Boehner is advocating going back to the way things were, and that is unacceptable. Do Republicans not understand the pain that Americans are in and Wall Street’s role? Or are they merely trying to protect their patrons on Wall Street?”

Seattle Times Editorial: Bill to regulate financial industry not perfect, but better than status quo, July 16: “The big financial companies do not want this bill. The Republicans who call this a "bailout bill" are protecting those big companies. “Bailout” is not an accurate word for what this bill allows… The law allows federal regulators to swoop in and take over big financial companies that are not banks, such as AIG, much the same way the FDIC took over Washington Mutual. Ask the WaMu shareholders whether they were “bailed out.”

It's historic. It will help people. But, there's still more work to be done.

Chris Dodd and Barney Frank take a lot of flack from all sides. But, they rarely get credit when credit is due. The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) gives them kudos in a letter they sent today:

Thank you for your pro-consumer, pro-investor vote on the landmark Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill. This historic legislation provides a sweeping overhaul of federal financial regulations that should help protect consumers, Main Street investors, and the economy for decades to come.

CFA is particularly supportive of the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to guard against unfair, deceptive and abusive practices when consumers take out a loan, use a credit card, or get a mortgage. The Dodd-Frank bill includes provisions that are crucial to an effective bureau, such as making the CFPB autonomous, with independent funding, and led by a single director. The bill also allows states to go beyond the CFPB’s rules to rein in a local problem prior to it erupting into a national disaster.

The new restrictions on mortgage lending are also important. Had these provisions been in place years ago, we may not have seen the crisis in mortgage lending that we are still dealing with today. We are particularly supportive of the restrictions on prepayment penalties on mortgages, a requirement that mortgage lenders ensure that home loans are affordable to the borrower, and a prohibition on steering consumers into unaffordable loans.

For years, CFA has promoted the need for brokers to have the same fiduciary duty requirement to work in the best interest of their customers when they give investment advice as Investment Advisers have. The Dodd-Frank bill gives the Securities and Exchange Commission the clear authority to write rules to this effect. Other important provisions for Main Street investors include: creation of a powerful new Investor Advocate Office within the SEC, elimination or limits on the use of pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses in brokerage and investment adviser contracts, improved disclosures, reform of broker-dealer compensation practices, and strengthened SEC enforcement tools.

Finally, CFA is supportive of the provisions that strengthen regulatory oversight of ratings agencies, increase rating agency accountability, and improve rating transparency. The Dodd-Frank bill also includes strong provisions on the key issues of moving the majority of clearable swaps into central clearing, requiring exchange trading, increasing capital and margin requirements, and other measures to improve the stability, transparency, and regulatory oversight of the derivatives market.

For the legislation to achieve its goals, regulators will need to provide the kind of vigorous oversight of the financial services industry that was lacking in the years leading up to the crisis. We look forward to working with them, and with you, to ensure that this legislation is implemented so that it fulfills its mission of helping consumers, thereby strengthening our entire economy.

While there is certainly more work that needs to be done, Wall Street Reform is an historic piece of legislation that will protect American consumers for generations to come.

We need Elizabeth Warren policing Wall Street. CREDO Mobile has the backstory:

Huffington Post published an explosive story last night reporting that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is trying to block President Obama from appointing one of the best consumer watchdogs in the nation to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created by Congress to rein in Wall Street. 1

As chair of the bailout oversight panel, Elizabeth Warren held Wall Street executives' feet to the fire and proved time and time again that she was not afraid to speak out.

Geithner is a Wall Street insider with long and deep ties to the financial industry. It's outrageous that he would try to sabotage the nomination of Warren, a respected Harvard professor who came up with the idea of establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the first place. It's clear from his handling of the financial crisis that Geithner is more concerned with protecting his friends on Wall Street than standing up for consumers.

Many Americans are already wary of Geithner because of his handling of the financial crisis. Now many of us are outraged at his latest action. We can mount a public pressure campaign and win this fight but we need your help.

Our allies at the PCCC launched a campaign this morning supporting Elizabeth Warren. They've already started to turn the media narrative around and demonstrate that Americans want a real watchdog in charge of Wall Street regulation. If we can get thousands of petition signatures today we can counter Geithner's attempts to block her appointment.

If we fight back now we can make a difference. Help us create overwhelming momentum for Elizabeth Warren.

Sign CREDO mobile's petition and let's stand up for a strong voice who will stand up for us.

It's done. The most comprehensive reform of the financial system since the Great Depression. Heather Booth of Americans for Financial Security analyzes what the bill means for us:

Nearly two years after the reckless behavior of the Big Banks took our economy to the edge of the abyss and cost 8 million Americans their jobs, Congress has passed and sent to the President the most significant legislation to rein in Wall Street and the Big Banks since the Great Depression. These reforms will bring transparency and accountability to Wall Street, and protect consumers on Main Street.

The big lesson is that if we organize, we can win. The progress we made was because people raised our voices, took the message to the public, to the streets, and to the Halls of Congress, where we were joined in our efforts by some committed elected representatives.

The forces arrayed against us had overwhelming resources, and hundreds of billions of dollars at stake in protecting the status quo. But we proved that when we fight back, and stand together, we can win victories against even the biggest and best-funded opponents of change. The big banks spent $1.4 million dollars a day lobbying to kill reform and they did not succeed.

We didn't win every battle, and there is still far more work to be done. This is the beginning not the end of the fight to restore the rightful place of the financial system as the servant, not the master, of the real economy. The Big Banks, and their high priced lobbyists, will continue to work to weaken or gut reforms as this bill becomes law and the regulatory agencies begin to try to implement it. We need to stay vigilant and active to make sure the implementation of the law fulfills its promise, on appointments, and on areas not addressed, or that need to be more forcefully addressed, including the continuing foreclosure crisis, too big to fail and the financial speculation tax, among others.

But the legislation headed to the President's desk is a better start than almost anyone predicted was possible in the face of the powerful opposition and entrenched power of the status quo. We won. Now let's get back to work.

Some of the highlights of the bill are:

Landmark consumer protection: Consumers will now have an independent advocate on their side to prevent tricks and traps related to mortgages, payday loans and checking accounts. Credit cards and mortgages will offer terms in language we can all understand. It will also offer help for those abused by predatory lenders and limit banks from charging businesses hefty fees for debit-card purchases.

Shining Light on Shadow Markets: The $600 trillion derivatives market will now operate in the open, so regulators can catch problems - like the credit default swaps that brought down the economy - before they happen. Most deals will have to be backed up by clearinghouses and traded on public exchanges. The participants will have to actually prove they have the money to cover their bets. In addition, hedge funds and private equity funds will have to register with the SEC and have regulators watching over them.

Preventing taxpayer bailouts: The government will have the authority to step in and safely shut down any failing financial firm, not just banks, instead of propping them up with taxpayer money. One regulator will be in charge of watching for emerging threats to the whole financial system - and will have the tools and authority to ensure those threats are actually visible.

Reining in the Wall Street Casino: Banks will be barred from gambling for their own account with your money. Banks will have to separate some of their derivatives trading operations into affiliates.

Mortgage reforms: For the first time lenders are prohibited from making loans that borrowers cannot repay, and banned from receiving kickbacks for steering people into high rate loans when they qualify for lower rates. Consumers are protected from abusive loan fees and penalties for prepaying.

Strong investor protections and more corporate accountability: Shareholders will have new tools to hold corporate boards and management accountable, including a voice on executive compensation decisions and an enhanced ability to nominate and elect corporate directors. Brokers will have to act in the best interests of their customers.

Holding Credit Rating Agencies Accountable: Credit rating agencies will no longer have a vested financial interest in giving high ratings to risky investments. Better controls will hold rating agencies accountable for the reliability of their reporting. Investors will be able to sue credit rating agencies who slap a high rating on a risky investment.

Opens the Fed's books: The Fed's emergency lending programs from the financial crisis will be audited to see where the money went. The Fed will also have to disclose loans it makes to banks through its discount window.

Thanks to all who raised their voices, demonstrated, sent emails, analyzed the policy, blogged and promoted the issue, contacted congress and engaged your neighbors, friends and families. You made this victory possible. And the struggle continues.

This was a great victory. But, our work does not end. We will continue to work to hold Wall Street and their Republicans accountable for the financial crisis and work to continue to strengthen our laws.

Wall Street used an army of K Street lobbyists to oppose and water down reform. We used people power to press our case. We kept up the pressure. And, we stand at the brink of passing historic legislation. Politico reports:

A major Wall Street reform bill that seemed in trouble just a few weeks ago now seems likely to become law, perhaps in a few days.

And if it does, it will be an important addition to the record of accomplishment of a president who as recently as last fall was being mocked on “Saturday Night Live” for achieving “nothing.”

What’s more, he was helped to the 60-vote finish line on the financial regulatory reform bill by Republicans, including the man responsible for the administration’s greatest electoral humiliation so far, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, as well as Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine.

All were among the objects of grass-roots lobbying over the Independence Day recess by groups such as the progressive coalition Americans for Financial Reform.

For instance, activists and experts gathered outside the offices of Snowe and Collins last week to urge the duo to vote yes. Supporters also used the event to thank Maine House members who supported the legislation when it passed the chamber June 30.

“All these events are thanking the members for their support of Main Street and for holding big banks accountable and urging senators in the state to finish the bill,” said AFR spokeswoman Lauren Weiner. “Thanking House members is a perfect way to show the kind of support the senators will get when they vote for Main Street.”

The coalition did similar events in Delaware, Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington, Weiner said.

During the weeklong recess, AFR did work in 17 states that included sending letters to the editors, meeting with newspaper editorial boards and calling voters and patching them through to their senators. Meanwhile, AFR ally U.S. Public Interest Research Group was organizing events in another seven states, she said.

In Kansas, the group’s affiliates met with clergy and called on them to push their senators to vote for the bill.

And this week, the Iowa affiliate was planning to set up a finish line in Des Moines to urge Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to help reform complete its legislative race, Weiner said. (As of Tuesday afternoon, Grassley remained “undecided.”)

Brown made his announcement Monday.

While Wall Street relied on lobbyists, we organized citizens to make our case. And, this time, people power won.

Scott Brown is a YES! But, to get there, Democrats had no choice but to agree to the Republican's placating of the big banks. Politico has the quote right from the horse's mouth:

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) will vote for the Wall Street reform bill, giving Senate Democrats enough votes to pass the measure.

Brown issued a statement Monday saying the bill isn’t perfect, but it’s better than it was before he pushed for several key changes to win his support.

“I appreciate the efforts to improve the bill, especially the removal of the $19 billion bank tax,” Brown said.

The bill isn't as strong as we'd want it to be. But, it's a start. When Governor Joe Manchin makes an appointment to the vacant West Virginia Senate seat, Democrats should have the votes to pass landmark Wall Street Reform. We're almost there.

When it comes to Wall Street Reform, Ronnetta Spalding of the Indianapolis Star got it right in a must read from today's paper:

House-Senate conferees have agreed on a Wall Street reform bill that is a clear victory for the people and a defeat for those who defended the status quo. It has been more than two years since the collapse of the economy. Eight million American jobs and more than 300,000 Hoosier jobs later, it is long past time to act.

This bill does not get us all the way there. It does not close off all avenues for risky gambling, and it does not provide the bedrock assurance we need that we will never again face financial institutions deemed too big to fail. But it does offer many important reforms that are a huge step in restoring economic stability.

It puts common-sense rules in place such as "No gambling for your account with our money" and, "You have to tell the truth about the mortgage you are giving someone."

Specifically, the bill provides:

Landmark consumer protection to prevent tricks and traps related to mortgages, payday loans, credit cards and checking accounts. It will also offer help for those abused by predatory lenders and limit banks from charging businesses hefty fees for debit-card purchases.

The $600 trillion derivatives market will now operate in the open, so regulators can catch problems -- like the credit default swaps that brought down the economy -- before they happen. Most deals will have to be backed up by a separate clearinghouse and traded on public exchanges. Participants will have to prove they have the money to cover their bets.

Elimination of taxpayer bailouts: The government will now have the authority to step in and safely shut down any failing financial firm, not just banks.

Prevention of lenders from making loans that borrowers cannot repay, and banning lenders from receiving kickbacks for steering people into high rate loans when they qualify for lower rates. Consumers are protected from abusive loan fees and penalties for prepaying.

Other provisions include strong investor protections, holding credit rating agencies accountable, opening the Federal Reserve's books and stipulating banks keep 5 percent of the credit risk on their balance sheets for packaged loans.

For those who doubt the reach of this package, consider this: The financial industry has spent $1.4 million a day to keep it from passing. They were terrified that transparency would put an end to the days of billion-dollar bonuses and bailouts. This legislation creates that transparency. It forces the industry out of the casino and into the open.

The bill isn't perfect, but, it's a step in the right direction. It's time to get the job done and get this bill passed.

Heather Booth is leading a coalition called Americans for Financial Reform. They're leading the charge to make aggressive Wall Street Reform a reality.

As the House stood poised to pass meaningful reform, Heather took to the airwaves to urge action. Listen to her appearance on the Marc Steiner Show on June 30th and to her Counterpoint/Between the Lines appearance on June 28th.

Senator Scott Brown is caving. He's doing his best to water down financial regulatory reform in conference. He's selling out Main Street and standing up for Wall Street, so, consumer advocates presented him with a new ride to replace his iconic, old pick up truck.

Lizzi Weyant of MASSPIRG, one of the organizers of the event said, "If Senator Brown can’t decide whether he’s for us or for Wall Street, he should trade in his pickup truck for a car like the Wall Street bankers drive. A car like this is more befitting a man with close ties to Wall Street."

Wall Street should pay for the cost of properly overseeing and regulating their excesses. Senator Scott Brown disagrees, and, he held up the entire Wall Street Reform bill just so he can protect the Wall Street interests. The Boston Globe has more:

TOUGHER OVERSIGHT of Wall Street will mean more stability for financial firms and consumers alike, but it will cost money up front. This week, US Senator Scott Brown came out against the most reasonable way to pay for implementing new regulations. House and Senate negotiators, led by Representative Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd, responded immediately by cobbling together a workable Plan B. Brown has not pledged his support for the new measure, but it is well worth passing...

the junior Massachusetts senator apparently was caught off guard last week when a House-Senate conference committee opted to pay the costs of the new regulatory system by imposing a tax that would raise $19 billion over five years from big banks and hedge funds. Once Brown issued a letter opposing the tax, Dodd and Frank went back and found another source for most of the necessary money: The revised bill would redirect about $11 billion from the federal bailout program to cover the cost of the new rules. It’s a jury-rigged approach, but it’s the best option if Brown and other Republicans oppose the more straightforward bank tax.

In principle, the money needed to regulate the financial system adequately should come from the financial sector. A tougher regulatory system is needed because big banks’ past excesses triggered a global financial crisis, and lawmakers shouldn’t take money from other initiatives to save Wall Street from itself. Brown argues that financial institutions would simply pass the tax on to consumers. But in a competitive marketplace, that’s harder to do; banks, their shareholders, and their plushly-compensated managers would have to absorb some or most of the costs...

the final vote on the financial bill will present him with a stark choice: Impose reforms that reassure the public and promote sound markets, or go back to letting Wall Street do whatever it wants.

It's time for Scott Brown to do the right thing. If you live in Massachusetts, call his office. If you have friends or family in Massachusetts - encourage them to call Senator Brown. Now is the time to act and pass real financial reform.