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Dear Member,
While the Federal Government has been shut down most of this
week due to the snow we got here in DC, we have remained hard at work on
your behalf – when not shoveling! Read on for
details.
CFPA: Where things stand today
As you probably know, the talks between Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen.
Richard Shelby on the CFPA reached an impasse last week.
Shelby
is against the creation of a new agency but supports consumer
protections and prefers them to be made part of an existing financial
agency, such as Treasury. Dodd seems to have decided to go his own
way now, with new allies, potentially moving his bill out of committee
in early March. If he pursues this strategy, he will most likely
get it through the Committee, but that may be as far as it gets.
The Republicans can filibuster – and they just might. This
article in American
Banker has a good chronology of the
progress of the CFPA in the Senate.
In a new development this week, freshman Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
has emerged to take a leadership position in helping bipartisan talks
move forward. Though he stands in opposition to a fully standalone
agency, he is now in negotiations with Chairman Dodd over several
aspects of restructuring the financial industry. This
collaboration could have a dramatic effect on negotiations since his
vote could give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block a
filibuster. More details can be found in this article from The Hill.
Keeping up the contact with your Representatives in Washington at
this stage is more critical than ever! If you have not already
done so, become part of our Congressional Contact Campaign
– today! Send a letter to your Representatives in Washington to let
them know how the CFPA could potentially affect your customers, your
employees, and your industry.
It is very easy to participate in the Congressional Contact
Campaign:
- Click here to
go to the CFC
website and find your member of
Congress.
- Once you are on the page with the listings of your representatives,
click the link to view the sample letters we have created for
your use.
- Copy the contents of the sample letter you choose, click on the link
provided next to the name of your Congressional representative and paste
the letter into the form provided. You can then modify it to your liking
before emailing it.
- Pass this information on to your employees, friends, family and
anyone else you can find to lend their voice to this all-important
effort.
CFPA: What else are we doing?
· Meetings have been
arranged with key Senators. These include members of the Senate
Banking Committee as well as others in key leadership positions.
· The entire FiSCA
Staff has been commandeered to help in this effort. Activities
have largely been redirected towards implementing the CFC action plan to
thwart the CFPA.
· State Coordinators
are being assigned to key states to help mobilize support from key
state-level elected officials. NY & NJ have already been
assigned with other key states to follow.
· State lobbyists are
also being engaged by FiSCA to support our efforts.
· Additional lobbying
firms are being interviewed right now to get more boots on the ground in
DC.
We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, feel free to
contact Bill Sellery or Theresa Murzyn
for any additional information you might need
to get the word out to Congress. Stop the CFPA!
About FiSCA
FiSCA, founded in 1987, is the national trade association for more
than 6,500 individual financial service centers across the
United
States.
About CFC
The Coalition for Financial Choice is comprised of companies, trade
associations and other organizations that believe that all Americans are
entitled to basic fundamental rights with regard to financial services.
The mission of the Coalition is to:
Advocate for equal access to financial services and credit for all
consumers Encourage innovation in providing financial services in order
to lower consumer costs
Improve consumer protections through education, disclosure and
transparency in all financial transactions
Help consumers build credit and provide them with opportunities to
create savings and build wealth
To learn more or to join visit the Coalition for
Financial Choice.
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