Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Tuesday circulated a memo to fellow Democrats that outlines strong support for a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency and included a series of legislative changes designed to win over wary lawmakers.Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is a strong backer of President Barack Obama's proposal for a new agency. It would have broad authority over products such as home loans and credit cards.
"These changes are largely responding to member concerns," said Steve Adamske, the committee's spokesman. Frank, before the August recess, postponed a mark up hearing on the agency proposal amid broad opposition from Republicans and the financial industry, as well as concerns from fellow Democrats.
"What we're going to accomplish now is refining the language," Adamske said. "It was very broad from Treasury. We're putting definitions on it. We're putting some meat on the bones."