House rejects Dem attempt to jettison financial reform bill

The House on Thursday afternoon rejected an attempt by House Democrats to abandon legislation they say would gut last year's Wall Street reform bill.

Democrats forced a vote on whether the bill, H.R. 1315, should even be considered on the House floor today by arguing that the Republican bill weakens the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). But as expected, the House voted in favor of continuing on with the bill by a 227-173 vote.

Every Republican voted in favor of consideration, along with just three Democrats.

The vote was just the start of what can be expected to be several hours of heated debate and amendment consideration related to the bill. Under last year's Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, the CFPB was due to begin its work today, but the bill would significantly scale back the bureau in several ways.

The bill would turn the leadership of the bureau into a five-person commission rather than a single person, and would also make it easier for CFPB financial regulations to be overturned by an oversight body, the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Several amendments seeking to overturn these changes are expected to be considered later Thursday.

Democrats generally cast the bill as a Republican attempt to overturn a law that will only help ensure U.S. consumers are not taken advantage of financially.

"This underlying bill, H.R. 1315, is trying to gut the reforms we fought for and won in the new Wall Street reform law," said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio).

"The Republican majority would like the American people to believe that the near-financial collapse never happened, never occurred," argued Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.).

And Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Financial Services subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, argued that the bill is an attempt to "defang, defuse and delay" the CFPB's work.

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is needed, and the House Republicans today have officially launched their legislative effort to make sure that these protections will never have a chance to do the job of protecting our consumers and safeguarding the larger economy," she said.