Consumer bureau architect Warren courts GOP, private sector

White House adviser Elizabeth Warren is traveling around the country at a breakneck pace and courting support from House Republicans as she works to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Treasury documents show.

Her schedule provides a glimpse into her work setting up the CFPB, which was created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and is due to go live in July.

{mosads}In December and January, Warren traveled the nation to meet with lawmakers, banking executives, business lobbyists and consumer advocacy groups.

In her capacity as assistant to the president and special adviser to the Treasury secretary on the CFPB, she also met with several lawmakers, talking more often with Republicans than Democrats in January.

The Sunlight Foundation reported Friday that Warren had 15 meetings with a total of 204 different people in the private sector in December, more than any other Treasury official implementing Dodd-Frank.

Those meetings were with a wide variety of stakeholders, including Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and leading consumer groups such as the Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Responsible Lending.

Nancy Watzman, a consultant for The Sunlight Foundation, said the information provides “a window into how these folks are going about their business” and “who is actually going ahead and getting involved in the sausage-making.”

“What kind of stuck out was that there were so many meetings that were reported for the fledgling CFPB, which hasn’t officially launched yet,” she added.

Warren has described her vision for the CFPB as an agency that cracks down on jargon-heavy, opaque consumer financial products, and will instead push for clear options that make it easy for consumers to choose the best product for them. Critics of the bureau, including many congressional Republicans, warn that additional regulations on those products could stifle innovation and drive up costs for consumers.

Her January schedule, released Thursday by the Treasury Department, indicates that she is consulting with a wide variety of stakeholders on both sides of the debate as she sets up the CFPB.

For example, on Jan. 5, Warren was in New York City, visiting with investors at Morgan Stanley and later in the day chatting with JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. On Jan. 25, she spent 45 minutes talking with Ajay Banga, the president and CEO of MasterCard.

She also spent big chunks of January touching base with community banks. On Jan. 7, she spent on hour on calls with four different state community banker groups, and on Jan. 10, paid a visit to the Independent Community Bankers of America Conference in Washington.

On Jan. 12, she traveled to Maine to meet with several community banks, alongside Sen. Olympia Snowe (R).

Consumer groups, which pushed hard for the CFPB, also got some of Warren’s attention. On Jan. 21, Warren hosted a meeting with the group Americans for Financial Reform.

On Jan. 18, she was in San Antonio, participating in a roundtable including 21 representatives from consumer groups.

She also continues to make the rounds on Capitol Hill, visiting both critics and advocates of the CFPB in January.

Her first congressional meeting of the New Year was with Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), who has emerged as one of the CFPB’s most active watchdogs as chair of the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on oversight.

On the heels of that meeting, Neugebauer sent a list of questions to Warren. Describing the bureau as part of a “fatally flawed plan,” he asked for a variety of information on how the CFPB is coming together, including hires and the agency’s organizational structure. Warren responded on Jan. 31, adding she would be happy to meet again to further discuss the bureau.

While Warren visited several more experienced lawmakers, she also set aside time to chat with several freshmen. On Jan. 26, Warren visited with six different members of Congress. The itinerary included tenured members like Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Ed Royce (R-Calif.), but also included a pair of freshmen, Reps. Francisco “Quico” Canseco (R-Texas) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). Both members are new additions to the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees the CFPB.

Her schedule also reflects that the House, now dominated by Republicans critical of the CFPB, will occupy more of her time than the Democrat-controlled Senate. Of the 10 lawmakers she talked to in January, just one, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), hails from the upper chamber.

It also is apparent from her schedule that the widespread problems emerging with mortgage servicers, including the “robo-signing” of thousands of documents, is a priority. Her January schedule lists several meetings on mortgage servicing issues, including two with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.