[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

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                               speech of

                            HON. LOIS CAPPS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 15, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word in strong 
opposition to the Price Amendment and the underlying bill.
  This amendment would make this atrocious CR even worse. Section 1517 
of the CR already cuts the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection by 
40 percent. And as if that wasn't enough to cripple this new bureau, 
the Price Amendment would prohibit funding for salaries and expenses--
ending the agency as it's just getting started.
  Although, I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Mr. Price and his 
colleagues have fought long and hard for their friends on Wall Street 
to allow them to continue gouging families and small businesses with 
predatory mortgages and credit cards.
  But last year the Democratic majority overcame their corporate 
lobbyists and special interests to finally bring an end to these Wall 
Street abuses. We enacted historic credit card reforms and established 
the new independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tasked 
specifically with protecting consumers--the first of its kind. This new 
Bureau will finally ensure that mortgage and credit card agreements are 
safe for the families and small businesses most vulnerable to predatory 
practices. The Bureau's Office of Service Member Affairs, led by Holly 
Petraeus, is specifically tasked with protecting our men and women in 
uniform who all too often are preyed upon by unscrupulous lenders.
  No more hidden fees. No more arbitrary interest rate hikes. No more 
twisted contracts that lawyers can't even understand. This is the type 
of protection the American people expect from their government. 
Reasonable, responsible measures to ensure out troops and consumers 
aren't taken advantage of.
  But, for some reason, Mr. Price and those who support this amendment 
believe our troops and the American people don't deserve these 
protections. They're unabashedly trying to destroy the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau before it even gets started. They're trying 
to return to the days when Wall Street ran amok and did as it pleased. 
They're trying to return to the same failed policies of the past that 
caused the financial crisis we're still climbing out of.
  One would think that such a ridiculous maneuver would at least be 
disguised as something less destructive. But then again, the Majority 
has made no secret of its pursuit of political gimmicks over 
substantive measures to create jobs.
  Just look at this CR--hundreds and hundreds of pages that do nothing 
but undercut our fragile economic recovery and destroy jobs. Nothing 
but page after page of absurd cuts to proven programs that protect 
consumers, stimulate growth and create jobs.
  Not to mention that we have yet to consider a single bill on the 
House floor that would actually create jobs. Not one.
  Mr. Chair, the American people expect better. They sent us here to 
create jobs, not destroy them.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose the Price Amendment and the underlying 
bill. I yield back.

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