KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |House panel approves consumer protection agency
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Financial Services Committee has voted to create a federal agency devoted to protecting consumers from predatory lending, abusive overdraft fees and unfair rate hikes.
Democrats are hailing the 39-29 vote as a win for the average American. It is a major step forward in enacting President Barack Obama's plan to tighten the rules governing Wall Street.
The legislation has been the target of an aggressive multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign bythe financial industry, which contends that the agency would have dangerously broad reach. The vote indicates that Democrats were willing to shrug off those concerns and are likely to pass the bill on the floor by the end of the year.
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