May 21, 2010 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is pleased to announce that, although the Senate has passed a far-reaching bill that would affect “virtually every aspect of the financial industry” according to The New York Times, the bill does not include the expansion of the Federal Trade Commission’s rulemaking power.
"DMA is pleased that the Senate did not expand the Federal Trade Commission's rulemaking authority, and that it chose only to preserve FTC's authority over the marketing of financial services and products,” remarked DMA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Linda Woolley. “Unfortunately, the House bill contains the FTC expansion language and we will be working with our coalition of over 50 trade associations, which represent a substantial swath of the US economy, to see that the Senate language prevails in the conference committee bill."
The New York Times reported that the Senate bill, which passed by a vote of 59 to 39, “is intended to prevent a repeat of the 2008 crisis, but also reshapes the role of numerous federal agencies and vastly empowers the Federal Reserve in an attempt to predict and contain future debacles.”
The Times further stated that the bill, whose main sponsor was Christopher J. Dodd, (D-CT), would create a formidable Bureau of Consumer Protection within the Federal Reserve that would have oversight on most consumer financial products. The Times reported that the bill would put into place a “financial stability oversight council” that would work to pinpoint potential risks to the financial system, and create regulation regarding derivative trading.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the bill “would constitute the biggest overhaul of US financial regulations since the 1930s.”
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