Elizabeth Warren::Ten Weeks Out - 300 Weeks to Go

Cross-posted from the GOS.

This morning, I’d like to write a brief post to sum up Senator Warren’s astonishing record in the Senate to date. It is only a bit over 10 weeks since she was seated, yet she has already made headlines numerous times in a series of hearings in the committees to which she is a member. You can find her committee assignments here.

As you all know, Senator Warren was on a different path until the early fall of 2011. She had built the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but strong opposition from the banking sector scuttled her chances to be confirmed as its Chair by the Senate. Thus, she became available to run for Senate in Massachusetts against banking lackey Scott Brown last year.

The bankers must sorely regret their actions these days, as Warren is now in a much more influential position. Follow below the fold!
Last week, there was a hearing in the HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) on minimum wage. At the time of writing this post there is still a diary by MinistryOfTruth high on the recommended list.

Warren politely SCHOOLS businessman at Senate hearing who tries to explain wage economics to her

Just want to say for the record thank God for Senator Elizabeth Warren. This may not be a huge SCHOOLing, I might have gotten more excited about this than I should have, but it is a great thing to behold, a Senator actually fighting for working class people. We need as many of those as we can get.

The Gentlemen Mr. Rutigliano above was respectful, to be sure, his mistake was trying to explain economics to PROFESSOR Senator Elizabeth Warren. In her rebuttal Senator Warren was polite and succinct, standing by the facts themselves. No wonder the Republican party and their financial backers fear this woman.

Here’s the relevant video:

Just a week prior to the HELP hearing, Senator Warren made waves with the following statement:

Susan Gardner had a highly recommended diary covering that occasion – Elizabeth Warren on the difference between a recreational drug user and a banker

Here’s the video that goes with it:

In late February, Warren took on the Chairman of the Fed – Ben Bernanke, who was testifying before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Which forced Bernanke to admit that we are in a situation of “Too Big to Fail”.

Your humble diarist posted the following recc’ed diary: Sen. Elizabeth Warren Grills Bernanke

The accompanying video:

An interesting fall-out from the “Too Big to Fail” admission was the testimony by AG Holder the following week before the Judiciary Committee Warren is not a member there) that these institutions are also “Too Big to Jail”.

Michael Lux gave us coverage of the story – Holder Confesses
The money quote in the diary:

But I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.
Again, I’m not talking about HSBC, this is more of a general comment. I think it has an inhibiting influence, impact on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate.

And let us not forget Warren’s performance at her very first hearing in the Banking Committee. I’ll think of it as the Valentine’s Day Massacre and wrote the following post the following day: Elizabeth Warren Gets to Work

Sen. Warren’s question to the regulators was quite simply: “When was the last time you took a Wall Street bank to trial?” She could not get a straight answer.

You can enjoy seven and a half minutes of Warren’s calm and polite demeanor here, but don’t be fooled by her low-key attitude, there is dynamite in every question whenever she participates in a hearing:

There is so much more already, but this post is becoming too long as it is. Just a few more relevant links below:

Elizabeth Warren takes on the NRA and the GOP

Warren, Brown, Reed demand majority vote on Cordray nomination

Thanks GOP, for SENATOR Elizabeth Warren!