Economic adviser slams GOP for stalling consumer agency

Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the President for Economic Policy, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday that Republicans were endangering Americans by resisting the confirmation of Richard Cordray.

President Barack Obama nominated Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but Republicans have vowed not to confirm any potential director unless changes are made to the new regulatory agency.

"I think people have had a very hard time marshaling any criticism against him, even Republican attorney generals have supported him," Sperling said. "He has a tremendous record as Attorney General of Ohio. So I think this is really a philosophical debate the Republicans are having, and it is so wrongheaded in terms of the lessons were just learned."

Without a director, the Consumer Bureau can regulate banks but cannot supervise non-bank institutions, such as pay-day lenders and debt collectors.

"But remember, part of the reason we had the entire financial crisis was there turned out to be a whole group of non-bank institutions that were out there manipulating consumers in all sorts of ways and they were completely [unsupervised]," Sperling explained.

"I cant tell you exactly why the Republicans are doing what they're doing and stalling and delaying somebody who has such a high and strong reputation as Richard Cordray," he added. "I can tell you what the impact is. The impact is terrible."

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