What is the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
The United States Senate is made up of 100 senators, two from every state in the United States.
Much like the House of Representatives, these Senators serve on committees, which help pass
legislation from the House to the President. Right now, one of the most important of the 20
standing committees, on passing the
Consumer Financial Protection Agency or CFPA, is the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Since 2007, this committee has been
chaired by Christopher Dodd, the Democrat Senator from Connecticut, complimented by the ranking member of the Republican party, Richard Shelby from Alabama.
These areas of jurisdiction that the Senate committee oversees include, but are not limited to: banking,
insurance, financial markets, securities, housing, urban development and mass transit, international
trade and finance and economic policy. This Senate Committee has been an integral part of passing economic
reform legislation and granting emergency bailout initiatives. The Troubled Asset Relief Program
or TARP, aka bailout funds, continues to be monitored and discussed by this committee.
The formation of the new
Consumer Financial Protection Agency or CFPA, legislation is currently waiting to be discussed and passed and/or killed on the Senate Floor.
Most likely, now that the healthcare bill, has been signed into law, may Senators attention will turn to passing/blocking the formatting the
new CFPA that is expected to regulate ALL financial industries, including alternative loan products, such as,
payday loans .
Currently, many private institutions are opposed to creating any government-sponsored regulatory branch that has
power over the private sector of business. However, after the debacle on Wall Street, legislators that are "pro"
the formation of the CFPA, feel it is necessary to protect the general public against having to use taxpayer's
money to bailout private businesses again, as well as, monitoring abusive lending practices and guarding against insider trading.