Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote after the Senate tied 50-50. All but two Republicans —
John Kennedy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — voted to repeal the rule. No Democrats or independents supported the move. The White House said Trump “applauds” Congress for voting to repeal the rule, which would have given consumers “fewer options for quickly and efficiently resolving financial disputes.”
Democrats cited the Wells Fargo case and the recent massive data breach at credit reporting company Equifax as proof that the new CFPB rule was needed to protect consumers from abuses. “Our job is to look out for the people whom we serve, not to look out for Wells Fargo, not to look out for Equifax, not to look out for Wall Street banks, not to look out for corporations who scam consumers,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio.).
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-arbitration-rule-senate-20171024-story.htmlThe U.S. Senate moved Tuesday to overturn a rule aimed at making it easier for customers to sue banks, handing financial firms a big win in their battle against post-crisis regulations. The CFPB rule announced in July would limit companies’ ability to impose arbitration agreements on customers in financial contracts, making it easier for aggrieved parties to join together in class-action lawsuits. Democrats and other supporters of the rule argued that it would give consumers an important protection against mistreatment by banks.
Financial firms lobbied for years against the rule, which they say would make lending more expensive while doing little to help consumers. Republicans lawmakers have long complained that the CFPB inhibits economic growth by burdening lenders with red tape and that its director, Richard Cordray, consistently oversteps the agency’s mandate."This bill is a giant wet kiss to Wall Street. Bank lobbyists are crawling all over this place, begging Congress to vote and make it easier for them to cheat consumers," Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat from Massachusetts who led opposition to the bill, said before the vote.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-25/consumer-bureau-s-arbitration-rule-overturned-by-vote-in-senateMcCain, Collins, Murkowski all voted for this. There is nothing called a Moderate Republican anymore. Collins voted with McConnell to silence Warren for reading the letter of the wife of Dr. King.
