Weak economy may add appeal to fledgling consumer caucus

Members of Congress aren’t shy about forming caucuses when they want to stir interest in a problem or issue — no matter how narrow it may seem.  

Take the Wind Hazard Reduction Caucus or the Scenic Byways Caucus. Don’t forget the Global Road Safety Caucus.

{mosads}Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) are hoping that the new Consumer Justice Caucus they are launching on Wednesday will hold broad appeal, particularly since the weakening economy is on the front burner in Congress right now.

“Consumers are facing an increasingly difficult economic situation. We need to make sure there’s a level playing field,” Maloney said.

She predicted that “there will be a lot of interest because we all represent consumers.”

Open to all members of the House and Senate, the caucus will delve into a host of economic and financial issues, such as the high price of oil, lending practices, affordable housing, consumer debt and even product safety, according to the lawmakers, who both sit on the Financial Services Committee.

The aim, they said, would be to use floor speeches, special orders and events to advance the interests of consumers.

The caucus will oversee forums on financial matters with consumer and civil rights groups — and lenders and other members of the business community will be invited as well. “We want to have a dialogue,” Ellison said.

Ellison, who came up with the idea for the new caucus, was “very surprised” to discover that one did not already exist after he arrived in Washington as a newly elected House member last year.

“There are a lot of caucuses and there’s obviously a pressing need to work in the best interest of consumers,” he explained, lamenting that, “despite everyone’s best efforts, it’s a little hard for consumers to get their voices heard.”

Ellison promptly alerted Maloney to what he saw as a glaring deficiency, and the pair got to work on forming the new caucus.

Maloney, through her chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, has been burnishing her pro-consumer credentials.

Earlier this year she introduced a Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, which has been embraced by consumer advocates and blasted by the banking industry. On Thursday she will hold a hearing on the bill that will feature a panel of consumer witnesses testifying to alleged mistreatment by their credit card companies.

The issue would be a top priority for the new caucus, Maloney said. “We cannot ignore the fact that the playing field between credit card companies and consumers has become very uneven,” she said.

Maloney and Ellison have so far recruited 14 House Democrats to their cause, though no House leaders or committee chairmen have yet joined.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said she would join the caucus because she is concerned about lax oversight by regulators on pharmaceuticals and food imports. “Even though we have agencies that have oversight, they seem to be impotent right now,” she said.

Drafting Republicans could be tougher. “The idea seems a little ironic as [Democrats’] solutions typically help very few consumers at the expense of everyone,” argued Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who sits on the financial services panel.

“Have they found a way to separate consumers from taxpayers?” he quipped.

Several consumer and civil rights groups have applauded the move. Representatives from the liberal think tank Center for American Progress ; the Center for Responsible Lending , which advocates for poorer borrowers; the National Consumer Law Center ; Consumer Action ; and the AFL-CIO and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will attend the caucus’s launch on Wednesday.

The staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, Alys Cohen, said the new caucus would help “to get the right legislation passed” in part by helping members deepen their understanding of often complex financial matters affecting consumers.

“It’s a great idea … We hope it will have broad bipartisan support,” said Josh Nassar, vice president for federal affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending.

A spokesman for the American Banking Association declined to comment for this story.

Both Maloney and Ellison said they hoped Republicans as well as Democrats would join. Ellison said they planned to recruit members of the Senate, too: “We’re going to reach out to them. We’d love to have them.”