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The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has voted to approve the nomination of Richard Cordray to be the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB.
The nomination now heads to the full Senate, where Republican lawmakers have pledged to block it unless the new federal agency's power is reduced.
Here are some snippets from a press statement Republicans issued after the party-line vote:
"The Republican proposal does not strip the bureau of any existing or new authority to protect consumers. We are simply seeking commonsense changes. ... No nominee for the director of the CFPB should receive consideration until the Democrats are ready to stop playing politics and work with us to make the bureau accountable."
-- Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
"I will not support the consideration of any nominee to be the CFPB director until the structure of the bureau is reformed to enhance consumer protection while ensuring accountability. The bureau is a massive new expensive government bureaucracy that is immunized against meaningful oversight and dramatically extends the federal government's control over the economy."
-- U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
"Boards of directors serve an important function, and that's why regulators, nonprofits, corporations and universities all have them. We are simply asking that this enormously powerful new agency have checks and balances in place that protect the country from an overly zealous director."
-- U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
"We've outlined our serious reservations about the authority the law currently gives to the credit czar, and those concerns will remain no matter who fills that position. ... In light of the real potential for overreach, it's a mistake to proceed on any nomination for this position until we've made some specific reforms that will provide necessary accountability and a check on the credit czar's power."
-- U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.)
"My colleagues and I stand by our pledge that no nominee to head the CFPB will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate -- regardless of party affiliation -- without basic changes to the Bureau's structure. My request is not radical; I am simply asking that we increase accountability at the CFPB."
-- U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
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