By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is commending the work of a consumer protection agency created after the economic crisis.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau got its first permanent director this week after the Senate voted to install Richard Cordray after years of delay.
Read More…
More on Barack Obama
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Watch the West Wing Week here.
Two Presidents in the White House: Former President George H.W. Bush joined President Obama at the White House on Monday to honor the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award winners. This award recognizes Americans that serve their communities in unique ways. At the event, President Obama announced his plan to continue President Bush’s legacy: a new Presidential Memorandum on expanding national service. The President’s initiative will help Americans become more engaged in service by tapping the full resources of the federal government.
Immigration Reform: Spanish-language television anchors from around the country were offered a unique opportunity on Tuesday – the chance to visit the White House with behind-the-scenes access and interview President Obama. After attending briefings surrounding issues important to Latinos, the reporters spoke with President Obama about the importance of comprehensive immigration reform. “Immigration is always difficult – it always has been in this country,” said President Obama. “But what’s also been true is that this is the thing that separated America from every other country on Earth. It’s part of what makes us special, and we have to continue that tradition by passing comprehensive immigration reform.”
Protecting Americans: After blocking a vote on his nomination for two years, the Senate confirmed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday. President Obama spoke from the East Room on Wednesday about the significance of Cordray’s role – one that looks out for the financial interests of every day Americans. The President noted the accomplishments already made by the CFPB and said that with a leader in place, the Bureau would be well equipped to continue protecting consumers.
“Today, if you want to take out a mortgage or a student loan or a payday loan, or you’ve got a credit reporting agency or debt collector who’s causing you problems — maybe they're not playing by the rules, maybe they're taking advantage of you — you have somewhere to go. The CFPB has already addressed more than 175,000 complaints from all across the nation, giving people an advocate who is working with them when they're dealing with these financial institutions that may not always be thinking about consumers first.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House
By <a href="/author-detail/44">Adam Garber</a>
This week, the 44th President hosted the 41st President at the White House to confer the 5,000th Daily Point of Light award, honored Richard Cordray as the newly confirmed Director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, sat down to talk with Spanish language news anchors, and spoke on the importance of supporting full implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House
By <a href="/author-detail/3699933">Megan Slack</a>
Today, President Obama thanked lawmakers from both parties for coming together confirm Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB was established to make sure American consumers are treated fairly in the financial market place, whether applying for a credit card, taking out a loan to buy a home or pay for college, dealing with a debt collector or other activities.
“Four years ago, even as we were working on restoring the economy and dealing with the immediate crisis,” President Obama said, “we also wanted to figure out how do we set new rules for the road to make sure that a few bad apples in the financial sector couldn't break the law, or cheat consumers, or put the entire economy at risk.”
Those efforts led to the creation of the CFPB in 2011, and two years ago this week, President Obama first nominated Cordray to run the new agency. But the Senate wouldn't vote on his confirmation, and the CFPB was severly hampered without a director, President Obama said.
The CFPB wasn’t able to give consumers the information they needed to make good, informed decisions. Folks in the financial system who were doing the right thing didn’t have much certainty or clear rules of the road. And the CFPB didn’t have all the tools it needed to protect consumers against mortgage brokers, or credit reporting agencies, or debt collectors who were taking advantage of ordinary Americans.
President Obama took action to temporarily appoint Cordray as Director so CFPB could get to work. And as a result, President Obama said, Americans everywhere are better off.
Today, if you want to take out a mortgage or a student loan or a payday loan, or you’ve got a credit reporting agency or debt collector who’s causing you problems — maybe they're not playing by the rules, maybe they're taking advantage of you — you have somewhere to go. The CFPB has already addressed more than 175,000 complaints from all across the nation, giving people an advocate who is working with them when they're dealing with these financial institutions that may not always be thinking about consumers first.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House
State Dining Room
11:04 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, for decades, the middle class in this country was the engine that powered the economy, and that allowed us to all grow together. Hard work paid off. Responsibility was rewarded. It was that basic bargain that made this country great — that no matter who you are or where you came from, you could make it if you put in enough blood, sweat and tears.
But over time, a winner-take-all philosophy began to take hold and it delivered huge rewards to those at the very top, but left everybody else working harder and harder just to stay afloat. A lot of families took on more debt just to keep up. Mortgages were sold that people really didn’t understand and, in some cases, couldn't afford. The financial sector was able to make huge bets with other people’s money. And that strain of irresponsibility eventually came crashing down on all of us.
Now, I ran for President to restore that basic bargain. I ran because I believed that our economy works best not from the top down, but from the middle out and from the bottom up, where you’ve got a rising, thriving middle class and ladders of opportunity for everybody.
So four years ago, even as we were working on restoring the economy and dealing with the immediate crisis, we also wanted to figure out how do we set new rules for the road to make sure that a few bad apples in the financial sector couldn't break the law, or cheat consumers, or put the entire economy at risk.
And I was fortunate even when I was running for President to have some friends like Elizabeth Warren, who had already done a lot of academic work on this and had a whole series of ideas about how we might start making sure that consumers were treated better, and as a consequence, take some of the risk out of the system. And because of those conversations and that work, and because of some terrific efforts by other members in Congress, we were able, for the time in history, to get a consumer watchdog on the job — to look out for the interests of everyday Americans. And I am very proud to say that last night, Rich Cordray was finally confirmed — (laughter) — by the United States Senate to keep serving as America’s consumer watchdog and as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So we’re very pleased about that. (Applause.)
I first nominated Rich for this position two years ago this week. (Laughter.) He was eminently qualified. He had the support of Democrats and Republicans from across the country. A majority of state attorneys general from both parties — Rich’s former colleagues — called on him to be confirmed. And for two years, Republicans in the Senate refused to give Rich a simple yes-or-no …read more
The financial crisis in the Euro Zone continues to haunt financial markets globally. This week’s iteration of the crisis surfaced in tiny Cyprus, and the EU attempted to force government confiscation of private customer bank deposits before another bailout would be authorized. Can governments really steal from private citizen’s bank accounts, and could it happen here? The answer to both is a qualified, yet disturbing “Yes.”
Due to massive public and private debt and a deep financial connection with fiscally troubled Greece, Cyprus is the sixth of the EU’s seventeen countries to receive massive monetary infusions to maintain solvency. In an unprecedented move, the EU voted to have Cyprus raid Cypriot bank deposits for up to 38% before another bailout would be authorized.
Americans should take note, not only of what’s happening in the Eurozone with Cyprus right now, but especially at how our domestic fiscal policy mirrors what’s been happening in Europe, and at how the U.S. is creating a similar future crisis.
To recapitulate the issue in simple terms, global economic growth, especially in the Eurozone, has slowed dramatically, since the financial crisis of 2008. This has revealed the problematic fiscal policies of many countries, which have continued to spend exorbitantly in spite of reduced tax revenue. When economic growth declines, so do tax receipts. That gap between spending and receipts creates significant budgetary deficits, which is unsustainable, and jeopardizes the liquidity and viability of the banking systems of the respective countries, since they hold much of their debt.
The Cypriot parliament voted late Friday on a plan to come up with the requisite 5.8 billion Euros needed for unlocking the 10 billion Euro bailout. Customer accounts with greater than 100,000 Euros are at risk of being raided by their own government. A defalcation of customer deposits would be a new low for any government that now has to pay the price for their own imprudent fiscal management.
It’s unlikely, given current laws and regulation, that U.S. bank customers would face a similar governmental theft of their deposits. But that can easily change, and some experts fear such a scenario is possible in light of some developments, especially for retirement accounts.
In November, Atlantic Monthly ran a story, “The 401(k) Is a $240 Billion Waste.” Time Magazine ran a similar story. Both referenced a Danish study, that concludes that government should abolish the tax-advantaged status and deductibility of retirement accounts, for they amount to “subsidies” granted to “the rich.” As soon as government recognizes a benefit as a subsidy, they believe they own it.
Also in November, Investor’s Business Daily reported that The American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries had launched a campaign to alert retirement planners to possible changes to individual retirement accounts.
On January 18th, Richard Cordray, the acting head of the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was interviewed by Bloomberg. They reported, “The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism
Quietly, behind the scenes, the groundwork is being laid for federal government confiscation of tax-deferred retirement accounts such as IRAs. Slowly, the cat is being let out of the bag.
Last January 18th, in a little noticed interview of Richard Cordray, acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bloomberg reported “[t]he U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, a move that would be the agency’s first foray into consumer investments.” That thought generates some skepticism, as aptly expressed by the Richard Terrell cartoon published by American Thinker.
Days later On January 24th President Obama renominated Cordray as CFPB director even though his recess appointment was not due to expire until the end of 2013.
One day later, in the first significant resistance to President Obama’s concentration of presidential power, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington DC unanimously said that Obama’s Recess Appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are unconstitutional. Similar litigation testing the Cordray appointment to the CFPB is in the pipeline.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) created by the 2,319 page Dodd-Frank legislation is a new and little known bureau with wide-ranging powers. Placed within the Federal Reserve, a corporation privately owned by member banks, the CFPB is insulated from oversight by either the President or Congress, its budget not subject to legislative control. It is not even clear that a new President can replace the CFPB director on taking office.
Read More at American Thinker . By John White.
By Daniel Fisher, Forbes Staff he recent decision nullifying President Obama‘s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board could invalidate some 200 decisions the board made while it was under the control of the president’s three appointees. It could also wipe out decisions made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under its recess-appointment chief, Richard Cordray.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
She raises her hands to her snow-white hair in a gesture of frustrated bewilderment, then slowly lowers them to cover eyes filling with tears. The woman, in her 70s, is trying to explain how she wound up in a shelter that could well be where she spends the rest of her life.
While the woman was living with a close family member, officials at the Shalom Center say, her money was being drained away by people overcharging for her grocery shopping, while her body and spirit were sapped by physical neglect and emotional torment. She says she was usually ordered to “go to bed,” where she lay in a dark room, upset, unable to sleep.
“She just yelled at me all the time. Screamed at me, cussed me out,” the woman says of a family member. “I don’t know what happened. She just got tired of me, I guess.”
The Shalom Center offers shelter, along with medical, psychological and legal help, to elderly abuse victims in this northern Cincinnati suburb. It is among a handful in the country that provide sanctuary from such treatment, a problem experts say is growing along with the age of the nation’s population.
The number of Americans 65 and over is projected to nearly double by 2030 because of the 74 million baby boomers born in 1946-64, and the number of people 85 and over is increasing at an even faster rate. The number of seniors being abused, exploited or neglected every year is often estimated at about 2 million, judging by available statistics and surveys, but experts say the number could be much higher. Some research indicates that 1 in 10 seniors have suffered some form of abuse at least once.
“That’s a big number,” said Sharon Merriman-Nai, project director of the Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly, based at the University of Delaware. “It’s a huge issue, and it’s just going to get bigger.”
Recognition of and mechanisms for dealing with elder abuse are many years behind strides that have been made in child abuse awareness and protection, experts say.
Getting comprehensive numbers of the abused is complicated, experts say, because the vast majority of cases go unreported out of embarrassment, fear of being cut off from family — most abuse is at the hands of relatives — or confusion about what has happened.
Abuse sometimes comes to light only by chance. County-level adult protective services caseworkers can get anonymous tips. In one recent Ohio case, a hair stylist noticed her elderly client was wincing in pain and got her to acknowledge she had been hit in the ribs by a relative. Another Shalom Center patient was referred by sheriff’s detectives who said his son beat him.
“Are these older people going to be allowed to live their lives the way they deserve to?” said Carol Silver Elliott, CEO of the Cedar Village retirement community, of which the Shalom Center is a part. “We really are not addressing it as a society the way we should.”
The Obama administration has said it has increased its focus on protecting American seniors by establishing a national resource center and a consumer protection office, among other steps. But needs are growing at a time when government spending on social services is being cut on many levels or not keeping up with demand.
In Ohio, slowly recovering from the recession, budgets have been slashed in such areas as staffs that investigate elderly abuse cases.
Staff at the Job and Family Services agency in Hamilton County in Cincinnati is about half the size it was in 2009, spokesman Brian Gregg said. Even as national statistics indicate elder abuse is increasing, the number of elder abuse cases the agency can probe is lower, down from 574 cases in 2009 to 477 last year, he said.
There are no longer enough adult protective services investigators to routinely check on older adults unless there is a specific report of abuse or neglect.
“We do the best we can down here,” Gregg said, noting that the agency has a hotline to take anonymous reports and that it is seeing more financial scams targeting elderly people.
The price for not getting ahead of the problem and preventing abuse of people who would otherwise be healthy and financially stable will be high, warned Joy Solomon, a former Manhattan assistant prosecutor who helped pioneer elder abuse shelters with the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, which opened in 2005 at the Hebrew Home community in New York City.
“My argument always is, if all you do is come in when the crisis has occurred, it is much more costly than preventative care,” said Solomon, director of the shelter, which takes in about 15 people a year. “We’re going to have to pay for it anyway.”
She and others in the field say the first steps are to raise public awareness and train police, lawyers, criminal justice officials and others to recognize and respond to signs of abuse.
Prosecutors often have been reluctant to purse elder abuse cases, which can be complex because of medical and financial complications, the witness’ ability to testify or reluctance to testify against relatives, according to research for the National Institute of Justice.
In suburban Los Angeles, Orange County started an Elder Abuse Forensic Center nearly 10 years ago; it helps police, geriatrics specialists, lawyers and social services workers coordinate efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute abuse cases.
New York City started its Elder Abuse Center to 2009 to bring a multi-organization approach to the problem, saying nearly 100,000 older people are abused in their homes in the city alone. While he was Ohio’s attorney general, Richard Cordray, now director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, initiated in 2009 the state Elder Abuse Commission, something current Attorney General Mike DeWine has continued.
The commission has focused on training and education and hopes to launch a public awareness campaign this year, said Ursel McElroy, the longtime adult protection services investigator who leads it. The commission also has been pushing for legislation to improve legal protection and abuse prevention, expand training, and improve statistical data.
In New York, part of the Weinberg Center‘s mission is to help other communities replicate it. It has assisted shelter startups in upstate New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Minnesota along with the Shalom Center in Ohio.
The center marked its anniversary in January. While more than 40 people have been referred to the nonprofit, faith-based center, only three have gone through with admittance, signs of the reluctance of people who fear losing family relationships — even if they are bad — or the feeling of being at home.
Set up as a “virtual shelter” because victims are integrated into the full Cedar Village retirement community, it is meant to provide 60- to 90-day emergency stays while caseworkers provide help and seek out the best alternative, such as with a different caregiver or relative.
In the case of the woman who complained of abuse in a relative’s home, a call to adult protective services by someone familiar with her led to an investigation and her referral to the shelter.
She has little money, health problems and few alternatives, and after a while, she asked if she could stay at Cedar Village permanently. Caseworkers and officials at the nonprofit, faith-based home agreed that was the best place for her.
The center asked that her identity be protected for this story because the close relatives who allegedly abused her don’t know where she is.
She paints, plays in a residents’ bell choir, plays bingo with others regularly, and has her own room and TV to watch favorites such as “Ellen” and reruns of “I Love Lucy.”
The healthy diet the center keeps her on means she misses some of her favorite foods — beans and corn bread, fried pork chops. But she loves the tuna salad, the group activities and having a life with people who care about her.
“I’ve got quite a few friends,” she says. “They’re just nice people here. I have somebody to talk to, and I appreciate it.”
___
Contact the reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell.
___
Online:
National Center on Elder Abuse: http://ncea.aoa.gov
The Weinberg Center: http://m.hebrewhome.org/weinberg-center.asp
National Institute of Justice: http://tinyurl.com/a9v48yc
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama discussed his nomination of Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and Richard Cordray to continue as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President signed into law rules of the road to reform Wall Street and protect consumers, and these two individuals will be the tough cops on the beat to enforce the law and protect middle class Americans.
The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, January 26, 2013.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
January 26, 2013
Hi, everybody. Here in America, we know the free market is the greatest force for economic progress the world has ever known. But we also know the free market works best for everyone when we have smart, commonsense rules in place to prevent irresponsible behavior.
That’s why we passed tough reforms to protect consumers and our financial system from the kind of abuse that nearly brought our economy to its knees. And that’s why we’ve taken steps to end taxpayer-funded bailouts, and make sure businesses and individuals who do the right thing aren’t undermined by those who don’t.
But it’s not enough to change the law – we also need cops on the beat to enforce the law. And that’s why, on Thursday, I nominated Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Richard Cordray to continue leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Mary Jo White has decades of experience cracking down on white-collar criminals and bringing mobsters and terrorists to justice. At the SEC, she will help complete the task of reforming Wall Street and keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don’t pay the price.
Richard Cordray is a champion for American consumers. After the Senate refused to allow Richard an up-or-down vote when I nominated him in 2011, I took action to appoint him on my own. And since then, he’s helped protect Americans from predatory lenders, launched a “Know Before You Owe” campaign to help families make smart decisions about paying for college, and cracked down on credit card companies that charge hidden fees. But Richard’s appointment runs out at the end of the year, and in order for him to stay on the job, the Senate needs to finally give him the vote he deserves.
As President, my top priority is simple: to do everything in my power to fight for middle-class families and give every American the tools they need to reach the middle class.
That means bringing in people like Mary Jo and Richard whose job it is to stand up for you. It means encouraging businesses to create more jobs and pay higher wages, and improving education and job training so that more people can get the skills that businesses are looking for. It means reforming our immigration system and keeping our children safe from the menace of gun violence. And it means bringing down our deficit in a balanced way by making necessary reforms and asking every American to pay their fair share.
I am honored and humbled to continue to serve as your President. And I am more hopeful than ever that four years from now – with your help – this country will be more prosperous, more open, and more committed to the principles on which we were founded.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
###
WASHINGTON – President Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate to fill vacancies on a labor relations panel, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that Obama did not have the power to make three recess appointments last year to the National Labor Relations Board.
The unanimous decision is an embarrassing setback for the president, who made the appointments after Senate Republicans spent months blocking his choices for an agency they contended was biased in favor of unions.
The ruling also throws into question Obama’s recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray’s appointment, also made under the recess circumstance, has been challenged in a separate case.
Obama claims he acted properly in the case of the NLRB appointments because the Senate was away for the holidays on a 20-day recess. But the three-judge panel ruled that the Senate technically stayed in session when it was gaveled in and out every few days for so-called “pro forma” sessions.
By <a href="/author-detail/44">Adam Garber</a>
This week, Washington D.C. was transformed into an historic stage, with an estimated one million people on hand to witness the President and Vice President take the Oath of Office at the United States Capitol. Through it all, West Wing Week was there, from the terrace of the Capitol to backstage at the balls. America, take a moment to look back at where we've been this week for this special edition of West Wing Week, January 18th to the 24th, or “Behind the Scenes: Inauguration 2013.”
Saturday, January 19th
Sunday, January 20th
Monday, January 21st
Tuesday, January 22nd
Thursday, January 24th
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House
By Megan Slack
Today, President Obama announced he would nominate Richard Cordray to continue as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established by the Wall Street Reform Act President Obama signed into law in 2010, is charged with overseeing the federal financial laws that specifically protect consumers—people who keep their money in banks and credit unions, pay for goods and services with their credit cards, and rely on loans to buy homes or pay for college, among other services.
“Over the last year, Richard has proved to be a champion of American consumers,” President Obama said.
Thanks to his leadership, we’ve made it tougher for families to be tricked into mortgages they can’t afford. We’ve set clearer rules so that responsible lenders know how to operate fairly. We’ve launched a “Know Before You Owe” campaign to help parents and students make smart decisions about paying for college. We’ve cracked down on credit card companies that charge hidden fees, and forced those companies to make things right. And through it all, Richard has earned a reputation as a straight shooter and somebody who’s willing to bring every voice to the table in order to do what’s right for consumers and our economy.
Have questions about how the Wall Street Reform Act is helping protect consumers? Watch the video below, or check out this handy explainer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 101: Why We Need a Consumer Watchdog.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House
State Dining Room
2:38 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Over the last four years, I’ve talked about how shared prosperity — from Wall Street to Main Street — depends on smart, common-sense regulations that protect the vast majority of Americans from the irresponsible actions of a few.
That’s why we passed tough reforms to protect consumers and our financial system from the kinds of abuse that nearly brought the economy to its knees. Today, there are rules to help families — responsible families buy a home or send their child to college without worrying about being tricked out of their life savings. There are rules to make sure that financial firms which do the right thing aren’t undermined by those that don't do the right thing. And there are rules to end taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts once and for all.
But it’s not enough to change the law. We also need cops on the beat to enforce the law. And that’s why, today, I am nominating Mary Jo White to lead the Security and Exchange Commission, and Richard Cordray to continue leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
This guy is bothering me here — (swatting at a fly.)
As a young girl, Mary Jo White was a big fan of the Hardy Boys. I was, too, by the way.
MS. WHITE: Good. Good.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. As an adult, she’s built a career the Hardy Boys could only dream of. Over a decade as a U.S. Attorney in New York, she helped prosecute white-collar criminals and money launderers. In the early 1990s, she brought down John Gotti, the head of the Gambino crime syndicate. And she brought to justice the terrorists responsible for bombing the World Trade Center and the American embassies in Africa. So I’d say that’s a pretty good run. You don't want to mess with Mary Jo.
As one former SEC chairman said, Mary Jo “does not intimidate easily.” And that’s important, because she has a big job ahead of her. The SEC played a critical role in protecting our financial system during the worst of the financial crisis. But there’s much more work to be done to complete the task of reforming Wall Street and making sure that American investors are better informed and better protected going forward. And we need to keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don’t pay the price.
I am absolutely confident that Mary Jo has the experience and the resolve to tackle these complex issues and protect the American people in a way that is smart and in a way that is fair.
And I want to thank Elisse Walter, who has done an outstanding job holding down the fort as chairwoman. And I expect the Senate to confirm Mary Jo as soon as possible so she can get to work.
My second nominee is a familiar face. A year and a half ago, I nominated Richard Cordray to lead the watchdog agency we created to give Americans the information they need to make sound financial choices and protect them from unscrupulous lenders and debt collectors.
As a former attorney general of Ohio with a long record of working with Democrats and Republicans on behalf of the American people, nobody questioned Richard’s qualifications. But he wasn’t allowed an up or down vote in the Senate, and as a consequence, I took action to appoint him on my own. And over the last year, Richard has proved to be a champion of American consumers.
Thanks to his leadership, we’ve made it tougher for families to be tricked into mortgages they can’t afford. We’ve set clearer rules so that responsible lenders know how to operate fairly. We’ve launched a “Know Before You Owe” campaign to help parents and students make smart decisions about paying for college. We’ve cracked down on credit card companies that charge hidden fees, and forced those companies to make things right. And through it all, Richard has earned a reputation as a straight shooter and somebody who’s willing to bring every voice to the table in order to do what’s right for consumers and our economy.
Now, Richard’s appointment runs out at the end of the year, and he can’t stay on the job unless the Senate finally gives him the vote that he deserves. Financial institutions have plenty of lobbyists looking out for their interests. The American people need Richard to keep standing up for them. And there’s absolutely no excuse for the Senate to wait any longer to confirm him.
So I want to thank Mary Jo, Richard, and their families once again for agreeing to serve. And now I’d like to invite them to say a few words, starting with Mary Jo.
MS. WHITE: Thank you, Mr. President, for the confidence that you have placed in me and the faith that you’ve shown in me by nominating me to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. I’m deeply, deeply honored.
If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to committing all of my energies to working with my fellow commissioners and the extremely dedicated and talented men and women of the staff of the SEC to fulfill the agency’s mission to protect investors, and to ensure the strength, efficiency, and the transparency of our capital markets.
The SEC, long a vital and positive force for the markets, has a lot of hard and important work ahead of it. I would welcome the opportunity to lead those efforts and to build on the work of Chairman Mary Shapiro and Chairman Elisse Walter, who I’m very honored is present today.
And finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my husband, John White, who is here today, on what is our 43rd anniversary —
THE PRESIDENT: Today?
MS. WHITE: — today — for his strong support of me in seeking to engage in this very significant and challenging public service.
Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.
Richard.
MR. CORDRAY: Thank you, Mr. President, for the confidence you’ve placed in me and our team at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We understand that our mission is to stand on the side of consumers — our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters — and see that they’re treated fairly.
For more than a year, we’ve been focused on making consumer finance markets work better for the American people. We approach this work with open minds, open ears, and great determination.
We all thank you and the Congress for the opportunity and the honor to serve our country in this important way. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I just want to thank again Mary Jo and Richard for their willingness to serve. These are people with proven track records. They are going to look out for the American people, for American consumers, and make sure that our marketplace works better — more transparently, more efficiently, more effectively. So I again would urge the Senate to confirm both of them as quickly as possible.
And I also want to express congratulations to the Whites for their anniversary. If I had known, we would have maybe rolled out a cake or something. (Laughter.) But have fun.
MS. WHITE: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: I hope you enjoy it.
END
2:46 P.M. EST
Source: White House Press Office
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
10:32 A.M. EST
MR. CARNEY: Good morning. Welcome to the first gaggle of the second term. (Laughter.)
Q Historic.
MR. CARNEY: Precisely. The first only comes once.
So, as you know, the President is — you’ll see the President later this afternoon. He has a personnel announcement, and therefore I decided to move my meeting with you to the morning, do an off-camera gaggle, something that a number of you have asked that we do a little more frequently and I’m happy to oblige.
We’re going to do this — for those of you who aren’t familiar with it — kind of try to, in keeping with tradition — efficient, no seven questions for members of the first row before we get to move it around. Maybe one way that I think this has been done is sort of one topic per person so we can move around, try to do this in 20 minutes, and so you guys can get back to work.
With that, I’ll go to the Associated Press.
Q Thanks. On the Pentagon’s announcement on women in combat, can you explain what the President’s role was in that decision?
MR. CARNEY: I can tell you that the President is very pleased with the announcement that Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey will be making official on this important policy change later today. I’ll let the Secretary and the Chairman discuss the details.
The President fully supports this effort to expand opportunities for women, to serve in our armed forces. As you know, women are already serving in critical roles throughout our military, and the President believes strongly that we should continue to remove these unnecessary gender-based barriers to service.
Despite the existence of these barriers heretofore, as you know, women have fought and bled and died in Iraq and Afghanistan in uniform, and the President believes that this is a very appropriate policy change.
Q Did he ask Secretary Panetta to take this on?
MR. CARNEY: This is something that he and the Secretary have discussed in their regular meetings over time. But obviously, this is a decision that is generated by the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary, which is appropriate — not a directed decision. But it’s certainly one that the President believes is appropriate, and I think that’s a position he’s held for some time.
Q And does he think it’s appropriate for women to serve in all combat forces, including Special Forces, like the SEALs or the Delta Force?
MR. CARNEY: I’ll let Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey talk about the details this afternoon before we go into the details here. I think that’s appropriate given that this is a military decision that’s being I think recommended by the Joint Chiefs to the Secretary, so we’ll let them present. And then I’m sure tomorrow I can take more questions on it.
Q Jay, North Korean officials have made some belligerent comments, including talking about how there are rockets and tests targeted at the United States. Could you comment on that, and also talk about whether any repercussions are in the offing?
MR. CARNEY: North Korea’s statement is needlessly provocative, and a test would be a significant violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Further provocations would only increase Pyongyang’s isolation, and its continued focus on its nuclear and missile program is doing nothing to help the North Korean people.
As you know, the U.N. Security Council in a resolution adopted just two days ago expressed its determination to take significant action in the event of a further launch or nuclear test. Resolution 2087 is a strong message of the international community’s opposition to North Korea’s provocations, and these tightened sanctions will help impede the growth of weapons of mass destruction programs in North Korean programs — in North Korea rather — and the United States will be making — taking additional steps in that regard. But I have nothing more for you on it.
Q Do these comments tell you anything about the direction of the regime of Kim Jong-un?
MR. CARNEY: Look, we judge North Korea by its actions, and provocations like these are significant violations. And we act accordingly. We certainly haven’t seen a noticeable change in behavior.
Q John Boehner — Speaker Boehner was quoted saying that “the President’s goal is to annihilate the Republican Party.” What’s the President’s reaction to that?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I haven’t spoken to the President about that, but I know it’s not his goal. His goal is to work together with Congress, with members of both parties to achieve progress on behalf of the American people. You heard him say in the inaugural address that even though we have profound differences and differences that we will not resolve necessarily in the next year or two or three or four, it is imperative that we come together and act on behalf of the American people. And there are things that we can and must do together.
The President believes that a strong two-party system is the foundation of our democracy and looks forward to working with Republicans as well as Democrats to get things done.
Q He wouldn’t object to the annihilation of the Republican Party, would he? (Laughter.)
MR. CARNEY: I think he would object to — he believes that the two-party system is part of the foundation of our democracy, and that it is a healthy aspect of our democracy even if it’s contentious.
Ours is not the only politics in the world that is contentious and appropriately so. What he believes, however, is that we need to have spirited debates but not debates that paralyze us. We need to compromise, not be absolutists, but agree that the call — that the need to act on behalf of the American people should compel us to make reasonable compromise while we stick to our principles. And that's the approach he’s taken since he entered the White House, and it’s the approach he intends to take in the second term.
Q Without betraying anything that happened in his private conversations on Inauguration Day, second Inauguration Day, did anything in any of his meetings with the leaders who were here or up on the Hill lead him to believe that there will be more comity, or was there any — c-o-m-i-t-y —
MR. CARNEY: I applaud the use of that word.
Q — or goodwill, or was there any exchange of promises?
MR. CARNEY: I don't have any specific information about conversations that took place on Inauguration Day. I think that it was appropriately a day where we celebrated as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans. And it is a remarkable thing that we have, without drama, these peaceful transitions of power or extensions of time in office. And that's something to celebrate as Americans, and the President feels that way.
But we — as I said yesterday, I believe, and previous to that, some of the decisions that Republicans have made recently, including a decision to abandon a strategy in their approach to the debt ceiling, is a welcome development.
One of the things that the President believes firmly is that we are not helping ourselves or helping the American people, or helping the American economy when we govern from crisis to crisis — manufactured crisis to crisis. And we understand — he understands that there will be tough negotiations over how to further reduce our deficit, for example, in a balanced way, but that we can do that if we, all of us, approach the task with compromise in mind and not confrontation and crisis.
Even with some of the positive signs we've seen and avoiding the debt ceiling crisis, I think there are Republican leaders on record saying they want a shutdown, for example, because it would be good for member management. That's a hard thing to sell to the American people, right? That's not a great strategy, I think in the President’s view. But, again, we'll see how things unfold. The President looks forward to working cooperatively with members of both parties in Congress.
Q Jay, which of those regulated by the SEC know about Mary Jo White’s qualifications? And does it suggest a new level of aggressiveness of regulatory enforcement?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I can confirm that the President, later today, will announce his intention to nominate Mary Jo White to serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. I'll obviously leave some of this to the President, but it’s certainly out there and been confirmed.
Mary Jo White — for those of us, as you were, here in the ‘90s, know of her extraordinary record as a U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. I mean, she prosecuted a number of large-scale white-collar crimes in complex securities and financial institution fraud. She brought justice to the terrorists responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Center and for the bombing of American embassies in Africa. She also served as a director of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
As you know, the SEC plays an essential role in the implementation of Wall Street reform and rooting out reckless behavior in the financial industry. The President believes that that appointment and the other one — the re-nomination he’s making today — demonstrate the commitment that he has to carrying out Wall Street reform, making sure that we have the rules of the road that are necessary and that are being enforced in a way that ensures we don't have the kind of financial crisis that we had that led to the worst economic crisis that we've seen since the Great Depression.
Q Don’t mess with the SEC.
MR. CARNEY: Look, she's got an incredibly impressive résumé, and the President is very pleased to be able to nominate her.
Q Jay, to follow up — the debt ceiling having now been shuffled back to May, the next deadline is the return of the sequester. Is the President going to submit a proposal of his to replace the sequester, which he doesn't like?
MR. CARNEY: The President has submitted a proposal, as you know, and as I said yesterday, that proposal stands. He has put forward significant spending cuts and additional revenues gleaned from tax reform and closing of loopholes and capping of deductions that would significantly go beyond, in terms of size, the sequester.
Q I thought that's a larger-scale thing —
MR. CARNEY: It is. But the whole point of a big deal was that it would eliminate both the sequester and achieve broader deficit reduction for the long term, and that the President still believes that we need to come together to finish the job; that instead of doing in whole, we've been doing in steps to achieve $4 trillion-plus over a decade of deficit reduction through spending cuts, entitlement reforms, and increased revenues.
Q So that's the way he's going to attack this is to go back to trying to get the big deal, as opposed to —
MR. CARNEY: I don't have specifics to play out for you in terms of what tactical approaches we'll take. But the President's broad principle and the specifics of how he believes we can responsibly cut spending as opposed to taking a hatchet in an across-the-board way, which is what the sequester does — and nobody supports that enactment. And as a counter to that, he's put forward very specific proposals.
Q I understand that. I'm just saying that the immediate deadline is the sequester. So he's not going to try and deal just with the sequester? He could —
MR. CARNEY: Again, you're asking me what like specifically we may have to propose for that in however many weeks or months. Broadly speaking, the sequester is —
Q Four weeks away.
MR. CARNEY: Yes, so weeks — fair, right? Or a month. Anyway, I don't have anything specific for you beyond what the President has already put on the table, which is detailed and substantial and which the President looks forward to discussing with congressional leaders.
Q Jay, we know that probably a few minutes from now, Dianne Feinstein is going to introduce the assault weapons ban. The Vice President will be in Richmond tomorrow with the Governor and some others discussing this. Can you give us a little bit of a sense — given the fact that for a lot of Democrats this is challenging, sort of treacherous territory — how the White House views pursuing what were three of his top priorities, which are magazines, assault weapons, and background checks if the order by which you pursue that is significant and how he sort of prioritizes going about that to be able to accomplish the biggest change?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I'm not going to lay out to you a legislative strategy. We're obviously working with Senator Feinstein and other leaders in Congress on this matter. As the President made clear, the fact that some of these are hard to achieve — all of them in many ways are hard to achieve, some of his goals — doesn't mean that we should not work aggressively to achieve them. There's broad public support for taking action.
Not a single one of the President's proposals that he put forward last week would take a gun away from a single, law-abiding American citizen. He believes that the Second Amendment right to bear arms is important and he supports it. But we ought to be able to take common-sense measures to reduce the amount of gun violence in this country and to increase the amount of security for our people, most especially our children.
Q How does pursuing the assault weapons ban first not make it more challenging to pursue the others, given that's the one with the most opposition?
MR. CARNEY: Again, I just don't have a lot of process answers to give you and tactical or strategic answers to give you. We're working with Congress. The things you've mentioned are the — represent the legislative portion of the President's proposals, and they mirror in many ways action that members of Congress, Senator Feinstein as you mentioned being one of them, want to take. And we'll work with them on moving forward with congressional leaders on how they will move forward on these proposals.
And the President made clear that he will use the power of his office, as will the Vice President, to help bring about these important reforms.
Robert.
Q Thanks. A two-parter. Do you expect any troubles with Cordray and the confirmation this time, given the recess appointment history last time?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I would say two things. One, when the President nominated Richard Cordray to this very important post, which provides important reforms to protect consumers, he was widely praised by Republicans and Democrats. He had worked with Republicans and Democrats in his position in Ohio. There were no objections on substance to his nomination. Unfortunately, it was blocked because — for political considerations, because some folks in Congress don't believe that we should have an effective Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. The President strongly disagrees. The American people strongly disagree.
Hopefully, the fact that Richard Cordray has substantial bipartisan support out in the country and at the time — and we can provide that to you — was praised by Republicans and Democrats — former Attorneys General, as he was — hopefully it will convince the Senate to move forward and allow the up-or-down vote that he deserves.
Q So you expect clear sailing then pretty much?
MR. CARNEY: That's not what I said at all. (Laughter.) I wouldn’t want to predict an outcome except to say that there are no objections to him on substance. He is absolutely the right person for the job. He has done an excellent job in his position, and the President hopes very much the Senate will confirm him.
Q Okay. Can you update us a little bit on Jack Lew? Mr. Geithner’s last day I believe is either today or tomorrow.
MR. CARNEY: I didn't see him today. I don't know when his — I can't remember. Tomorrow.
Q Are you expecting an acting —
MR. CARNEY: Well, again I’m not going to predict how the Senate will handle any particular nomination. It’s the Senate’s prerogative to confirm nominees. The President feels very strongly that Jack Lew is an excellent and highly qualified nominee, and we hope — he hopes that the Senate will move expeditiously to confirm him. We have a highly qualified deputy Treasury Secretary who remains in place — Neal Wolin. And again, we just — we hope the Senate moves quickly.
Q Thanks very much. On immigration, has the President given any more thought on moving forward on immigration — whether you can do it in one full package, whether he’ll end up breaking it up into separate pieces? And has he reached out at all to Marco Rubio whose plan has been out there, and the President’s has been somewhat receptive —
MR. CARNEY: Well, I haven’t seen a plan and I don't think anybody else has. He’s spoken about it. And the principles, as I said the other day, reflect very closely the blueprint that is available on WhiteHouse.gov for the President’s approach to comprehensive immigration reform, and we find that a good thing.
The President looks forward to working with Congress, members of both parties. He has always said that this is the kind of thing that has to be bipartisan and has in the past enjoyed bipartisan support from Republican leaders as well as rank-and-file senators and members of Congress.
President George W. Bush, as you know, was a strong proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, as was Senator McCain. And the President looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in achieving comprehensive immigration reform. He does absolutely believe that we need to do this in a comprehensive way, that that's the appropriate way to move forward to ensure that we put in place the kind of comprehensive reform that achieves all the goals that are necessary here.
Q How soon will we see something —
MR. CARNEY: The President has made clear that he intends to act very quickly —
Q How soon?
MR. CARNEY: I'm not going to hem him in by putting a timetable on it, but I think you can expect him to be true to his word, which is to take up this issue very early in his second term. And, by the way, this is the third full day of his second term.
I think John, I said, and then Peter.
Q Two more, Jay. Will the President ask or has he already asked the Vice President to take a lead role in dealing with Congress on these budget issues — sequester and debt ceiling?
MR. CARNEY: The Vice President has always played an important role in these issues and will continue to play. There’s not a set negotiation right now over these issues, but the Vice President has and always will play a role in working with Congress on financial and budget issues, on issues related to gun violence and immigration reform. And that's one of the things that the President counts on with the Vice President, is being able to have the Vice President take a role because of his substantial relationships on Capitol Hill.
Q But are we talking about the kind of direct and active role that we saw him play in December on the fiscal cliff?
MR. CARNEY: I don't think we're in a position to say how the endgame of these things will play out. We hope that this moves forward in a way that allows us to achieve a bipartisan solution that is balanced, that protects seniors and families with disabled children, people trying to send their kids to college; that reforms entitlements in a way that strengthens them, makes sure they’re there for future generations; that enacts tax reform that makes sure that corporations and wealthy individuals are paying their fair share and that the burden is not being borne entirely by the middle class or vulnerable communities.
And those are the President’s principles. They’re embodied in the proposals he’s put forward. And his entire team will be working with Congress to try to achieve them.
Peter.
Q Can I go back to the first question on the women in combat? The way you suggested it makes it sounds like the President was more of a passive player rather than a decider on this. Were there deputy meetings? Were there principal meetings? Is this something that the —
MR. CARNEY: I don't have a process to read out to you. I would ask you to wait for the formal announcement later today from Secretary Panetta and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Again, this is something the President has supported, believes is important. I think it in many ways formalizes a reality that has been taking place on the ground, but it also opens up enormous possibilities in terms of positions for women in the armed forces, and the President views that as a very, very good development.
But it’s also very important that this be something that is — that comes through the military, because the military, our armed forces, will be implementing it. And that's a welcome thing.
So I'll allow —
Q But he’s the Commander-in-Chief, though. Does he have to sign off on it, as opposed to just simply supporting it?
MR. CARNEY: He is Commander-in-Chief.
Q Right, so does he just support it, or does he have to sign off on it?
MR. CARNEY: Well, again, why don't we wait for the announcement. He is — he’s the boss.
Yes, all the way in the back. One more and then we'll go.
Q Thank you, Jay. About — because we saw yesterday, there could be some senators holding a press conference and saying they were sending a letter to the President pressing him to — how to make his decision on the XL Keystone Pipeline faster. How close are we to a decision on this?
MR. CARNEY: I would refer you to the State Department. We appreciate input from lawmakers, but as you know, as is in keeping with longstanding tradition, multi-administration tradition, these reviews are conducted by the State Department, and when the State Department concludes that process, we'll move forward, there will be a decision. But I'm not going to get ahead of that process.
So the timeline will be —
Q Has he received this letter?
MR. CARNEY: I'm aware of the letter. I don't — I'm sure we have it. But again, it’s not — this is not an issue to be decided that way. We're keeping with formal tradition here. The State Department reviews it, and I refer you to them for the timeline.
Thanks very much.
END
10:58 A.M. EST
