Topeka — A proposal by U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., to exempt automobile dealers from the oversight of a proposed consumer protection agency has drawn fire from military officials and Democrat Tom Holland, who will probably face Brownback in the governor’s race.
The dispute is over part of an overhaul of U.S. financial markets being debated in Congress.
The Defense Department, credit unions and numerous military organizations want auto dealers to come under the oversight of the proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
“Protection from unprincipled auto lending enables our soldiers to concentrate on their primary mission — protecting our great nation,” Army Secretary John McHugh said in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
But Brownback has proposed an amendment that would exempt auto dealers that assist customers in financing from the proposed consumer protection agency.
Holland, a Democratic state senator from Baldwin City, said that was wrong.
“The Department of Defense, along with many military support groups, oppose the Brownback Amendment because it harms our fighting men and women’s ability to be battle-ready,” he said. President Barack Obama is opposed to the amendment, too.
Brownback said his amendment, supported by the National Automobile Dealers Association, is needed because auto dealers are currently subject to federal regulation and state laws, and that unless the amendment is approved, lending could be hampered and hurt consumers by increasing the costs of vehicles. “Auto dealers are a part of Main Street, not Wall Street, and they are not responsible for the financial meltdown,” he said.
Brownback and Holland are expected to face off in the November election for governor.
Comments
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kansastruthteller (anonymous) says…
Typical - Holland wants more government even when it isn't needed. More government costs more money aka taxes. What's the point of adding another layer of government regulation and ovesight when the auto dealers are already regulated?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
Government regulation can increase costs to consumers, but the fact is that good government regulation in appropriate areas also saves consumers money-- lots of money.
The right question in this case is "How much do abuses by car dealers currently cost consumers?" If such abuses are a serious problem, and the Defense Dept and others certainly thinks so, then appropriate regulation shouldn't be avoided simply because some people have a knee-jerk opinion of any and all regulation (courtesy of the era of Reagan Know-Nothings, of which Brownback is a proud member.)
Keith (anonymous) says…
Sam's just taking care of his natural constituency, used car dealers.
consumer1 (anonymous) says…
I am now voting for Holland.
sierraclub (anonymous) says…
Well..... since Omaba does not like it.... it must be wrong!!! Holland, you should know better than that...... If you distant yourself from Obama, you may actually win. You will get the lefty vote for sure. But, if you sway, just a little, to the right, you will gain some middle voters and maybe some righties. But, if you stay with Obama, you will fail.
SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
Do you need the government to protect you from your own decisions at a car lot?
Agnostick (anonymous) replies…
So you want to jail "abortion providers," but you'll let criminals of every other stripe walk free?
"Pro-birther," indeed!
tomatogrower (anonymous) replies…
We need some protection from used car dealers. That's why I keep my cars until they fall apart, so I don't have to deal with car dealers.
autie (anonymous) says…
If Brokeback is for, it must be bad.
CLARKKENT (anonymous) says…
oh please mr. brownback, just go awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!
thinkb4utype (anonymous) says…
Auto dealers are not responsible for the Wall Street's bad behavior and shouldn't be lumped into this bill. They already are heavily regulated and customers who think they got swindled already have grievance options (one being that military and their families in Kansas were just added as a "protective class" under our consumer protection act - just like the elderly and disabled). That's the problem with DC - they try to lump a bunch of stuff into a bill, making the measure confusing and full of bad consequences. That's why they've got to run a major clean-up to the health care reform.
I agree with sierraclub in that it was a bad move for Holland to side with Obama - especially if he and the Ds are going to attack Brownback for being a "Washington insider"... He needs to be focused on explaining why he raised our taxes - I know it's a popular decision in Lawrence and most of JoCo - but that's not the case in the rest of the state. That vote will be what dooms his chances at being our next governor - that and his legislative attendance record...
seriouscat (anonymous) says…
wait what? what does auto dealer financing have to do with whether or not the men and women in our military are battle ready?
Not that I don't agree that auto financing shenanigans have become enough of a problem that the word 'bailout' comes to mind.
RalphReed (Ralph Reed) says…
Probably none of you have ever seen a young soldier, making next to nothing, being financed into a car he/she cannot afford. Then on top of that being locked into a loan from which they can't escape. I've seen good soldiers carrying a second job and then not reenlist because of things like this.
From the article:
"The Defense Department, credit unions and numerous military organizations want auto dealers to come under the oversight of the proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
'Protection from unprincipled auto lending enables our soldiers to concentrate on their primary mission — protecting our great nation,' Army Secretary John McHugh said in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee."
And now Brownback wants to oppose the DoD, credit unions and military organizations? I thought he was pro military. Guess he's not. Just another reason to vote against him.
seriouscat (anonymous) replies…
"I've seen good soldiers carrying a second job and then not reenlist because of things like this."
Question answered.
Well Holland already had my vote anyway.
thinkb4utype (anonymous) says…
this is why Holland's got to jump on the Obama bandwagon...
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/publi...
ahimsa (anonymous) says…
People--Our vote for governor actually counts b/c it is not subject to the electoral college.
So, please...please...please...plan to vote for Holland even if it is only because you do not want a theocrat in the governor's mansion. We can't have an anti-choice, creationist bully like Brownback who has been a member of the infamous C Street "Family" in office.
Agnostick (anonymous) says…
"Five Fort Riley soldiers were allegedly conned into paying for 'phantom options' on vehicles they bought from the Dick Edwards Auto Plaza in Junction City, Kansas, according to a lawsuit filed June 23. The Auto Plaza, which derives approximately 75 to 80 percent of its sales from military personnel, allegedly raked in a profit of $56,000 over a four-month period from soldiers who overpaid for their vehicles.
"The five plaintiffs weren't informed that they were paying extra for optional features that weren't actually on their cars, like leather, high-end stereo systems, anti-theft systems, upgraded wheels, and power sun roofs and seats, the lawsuit states."
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/07/l...
"An audit of Dick Edwards, Sherri Helmond, a spokeswoman for the MILES program said, uncovered 'clear violations of program standards on the part of the dealer - specifically that there were options included in the price of the vehicle that were not actually on the vehicle.' "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-ri...
somedude20 (anonymous) says…
Having been in the military for a number of years and living in many military towns I have noticed that the "auto dealers" around the bases are really shady. They feed off of the young kids who are getting money (or lump sums) and sell them lemons. I have known a few Marines that were taken by these sharks. Does not surprise me that Brokeback Brownback would do something like this as scumbags seem to think a like. I think this is a raw deal and that our young men and women are going to be taken just so Brown (brokeback) back can get a kickback
FAIL
merrill (anonymous) says…
Crummy lending practices screw people around in a big way. Then screw the nations taxpayers around in a big way.
Have we forgotten ?
1.The Bush/Cheney Home Loan Scandal
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archiv...
2. What did Bush and Henry Paulson do with the bail out money?
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/10...
Republican actions create the need for big government regulations!
.A history of the S&L situation can be found here:
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/s&l/
What is important to note about the S&L scandal is that it was the largest theft in the history of the world and US tax payers are who was robbed.
The problems occurred in the Savings and Loan industry as they relate to theft because the industry was deregulated under the Reagan/Bush administration and restrictions were eased on the industry so much that abuse and misuse of funds became easy, rampant, and went unchecked.
Additional facts on the Savings and Loan Scandal can be found here:
http://www.inthe80s.com/sandl.shtml
There are several ways in which the Bush family plays into the Savings and Loan scandal, which involves not only many members of the Bush family but also many other politicians that are still in office and still part of the Bush Jr. administration today. Jeb Bush, George Bush Sr., and his son Neil Bush have all been implicated in the Savings and Loan Scandal, which cost American tax payers over $1.4 trillion dollars (note that this is about one quarter of our national debt).
Between 1981 and 1989, when George Bush finally announced that there was a Savings and Loan Crisis to the world, the Reagan/Bush administration worked to cover up Savings and Loan problems by reducing the number and depth of examinations required of S&Ls as well as attacking political opponents who were sounding early alarms about the S&L industry. Industry insiders were aware of significant S&L problems as early 1986 that they felt would require a bailout. This information was kept from the media until after Bush had won the 1988 elections.
Jeb Bush defaulted on a $4.56 million loan from Broward Federal Savings in Sunrise, Florida. After federal regulators closed the S&L, the office building that Jeb used the $4.56 million to finance was reappraised by the regulators at $500,000, which Bush and his partners paid. The taxpayers had to pay back the remaining 4 million plus dollars.
Neil Bush was the most widely targeted member of the Bush family by the press in the S&L scandal. Neil became director of Silverado Savings and Loan at the age of 30 in 1985. Three years later the institution was belly up at a cost of $1.6 billion to tax payers to bail out.
The basic actions of Neil Bush in the S&L scandal are as follows:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/11270...
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/0...
merrill (anonymous) says…
Browback loves big government!
Notice how he leeches off the taxpayers for years and years and years. Now he wants to leech a few more years.
He should get a job as a used car salesman. This guy would tell the cars he sells are the most economical in the world. BUT he would not tell you his cars have no engines.
Get Brownback off the big government tax dollars... you know the tax dollars he is always bitchin about!!!
BigDog (anonymous) says…
Tom Holland once again did absolutely nothing to help with the states major issues this session ..... his eighth year in a row of taking the lead on absolutely nothing.
He wants to run the State of Kansas yet when he has the chance to step up with an idea or a plan .... he disappears. Where was his plan for revenues or budget cuts this session?
Tom is a nice guy but has shown no leadership when given the opportunity over the last 8 year at the Capitol. As far as a leader I wouldn't even rank him in the top 5 Democrats in the Kansas Senate .... and there are only 9 of them.
Before he critiques Sam Brownback, and there are plenty of things Brownback can be criticized for, he should be able to list his own accomplishments and I don't know of any.
deathpenaltyliberal (anonymous) says…
"RalphReed (Ralph Reed) says…
...
And now Brownback wants to oppose the DoD, credit unions and military organizations? I thought he was pro military. Guess he's not. Just another reason to vote against him."
He's only pro-military when it comes to rewarding defense contractors. Otherwise, the Brownback family is too elitist to serve.
finance (anonymous) says…
I wouldn't buy a used car, and I wouldn't vote for Brownbutt. God help us all if Sam the Sham and used cars are our future. Stinkers, one and all.
Akreed (anonymous) says…
How is the dealer preying on the young military folks any worse than them preying on anybody else that is too stupid to pay for things they aren't even getting?
As for the military members I hope they aren't in charge of anything too critical if they can't even read the damn sales contract and compare it to the car they are getting.
Shady dealer = bad
Stupid consumer = dumb
BigDog (anonymous) says…
Thank you Akreed!
At a certain point people have to start taking responsibility for their own actions. I mean someone buying a house that they knew they couldn't afford is the banks fault. Buying a car you know you can't afford is the car dealerships fault. Running up your credit cards is the credit card companies fault.
This is one of the major problems in much of our society today ..... it's always someone else's fault. And people want things now even though they know they can't afford them
Agnostick (anonymous) says…
BigDog, do you ever pay any attention to what you write here? Or do you just rattle off whatever neoconservative kool-aid pitcher you were motivated by this morning?