April 15, 2022

Toomey Statement on Michael Barr for VC for Supervision

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) released the following statement after President Biden announced his intent to nominate Michael Barr for Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve.


“Michael Barr has defended Dodd Frank’s big-bank bailout mechanism, which enshrined into law taxpayer bailouts of banks. He was also the primary author of the unconstitutional and unaccountable CFPB. For these and other reasons, I have concerns about his nomination, but I look forward to meeting and discussing these and other matters.”


Background

  • While serving in the Department of the Treasury, Barr was the primary author of the provisions in Dodd-Frank establishing the lawless and unaccountable Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including its unconstitutional structure, which was repudiated by the Supreme Court.
  • Barr has defended the Dodd-Frank Act’s big-bank bailout provision, the Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA), which created a permanent taxpayer bailout mechanism.
  • Ranking Member Toomey has repeatedly tried to eliminate the OLA and replace it with a new bankruptcy process.
  • Barr is a vocal critic of S. 2155, a bipartisan law that made modest reforms to Dodd-Frank. This legislation passed the Senate with overwhelming support (67-31) in 2018.

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