Senate panel OKs nominees to head SEC, CFPB

[ProSense]

Senate panel OKs nominees to head SEC, CFPB

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has approved Mary Jo White's nomination to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and sent it along for a final vote.

The Senate Banking Committee approved White's nomination on a 21-1 vote. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was the only member to object. White is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate and become the first former prosecutor to lead the agency that oversees Wall Street.

The panel also advanced Richard Cordray's nomination to continue as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But his nomination was approved on a 12-10 party-line vote. All Republican members opposed the nomination. They have also opposed the newly created agency and have expressed interest in curtailing Cordray's power.

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http://news.yahoo.com/senate-panel-oks-nominees-head-sec-cfpb-142719462--finance.html

[ProSense]

1. Sen. Brown Explains Vote Against SEC Nominee

Sen. Brown Explains Vote Against SEC Nominee

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the only member of the Senate Banking Committee who voted not to advance the nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday, explained in a statement that he objects to a Wall Street watchdog who comes from the industry she will be tasked with policing.

“I don’t question Mary Jo White’s integrity or skill as an attorney. But I do question Washington’s long-held bias towards Wall Street and its inability to find watchdogs outside of the very industry that they are meant to police. Mary Jo White will have plenty of opportunities to prove me wrong. I hope she will.”

During the same Senate Banking Committee meeting, Brown voted to advance the nomination of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/sen-brown-explains-vote-against-sec-nominee