CBC sits out vote to regulate financial services industry over concern for jobs

The House Financial Services Committee passed a major bill to regulate risk in the financial industry as Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members remained absent from the vote.

The panel voted in favor of the bill, 31-27, with CBC members absent. CBC members have raised concerns that the administration is not doing enough to help the African-American community weather the bleak economy.

Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had postponed an earlier vote more than a week ago because CBC members threatened to withhold their votes.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was seen leaving the Financial Services staff room shortly before the vote.

The bill is a major and contentious component of a wide-ranging effort to overhaul the financial industry. Frank has said that the CBC’s concerns are not about the underlying financial bill.

But the CBC efforts underscore the frustration lawmakers are showing over the nation's 10.2 percent unemployment rate and their efforts to devise job-creation programs.

---