Perriello breaks with party on financial reform

The House of Representatives voted a second time Wednesday night to pass a sweeping financial regulation bill — and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, voted for a second time against his party to oppose it.

According to The Associated Press, the legislation creates a federal agency to monitor consumer lending and a warning system for financial risks, forces failing firms to liquidate and maps new rules for instruments that have been largely uncontrolled.

Perriello, among House Republicans, complained that the bill did not do enough.

“This bill does not end ‘too big to fail,’” Perriello said in a statement. “Period. Addressing catastrophic risk in the economy without hard limits on leverage is like trying to hold water with a net. This bill did too much to restrict responsible actors, like our community banks and credit unions, while letting the biggest players continue to gamble with Americans’ retirement savings and housing values.”

House Democrats largely supported the measure and passed the conference bill — which combines both the previously passed House and Senate bills — on a vote of 237-192. The Senate will not vote on the bill until after the July 4 recess.

“The Republicans mastered the collusion between Washington and Wall Street that brought us to the brink of economic collapse,” Perriello said, “and the Democrats can’t just be a kinder, gentler version of corporate capture. While there are many positive reforms in this legislation that would protect American consumers, I could not support a bill with loopholes large enough to drive the next recession through.”

Perriello, along with 23 other Democrats, also sided with House Republicans on an amendment to the legislation known as “Audit the Fed,” which failed. The Tea Party-favored amendment, championed by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would have required a full audit of the Federal Reserve System.

“Congressman Perriello shares their strong concerns about the lack of oversight over the Federal Reserve,” Perriello’s press secretary, Jessica Barba, said in an e-mail.

Rather than praising his support, Danville Tea Party vice chairman, Darriel Burnett, saw Perriello’s vote as pandering to 5th District conservatives before he faces GOP challenger state Sen. Robert Hurt in November.

“He’s doing these things to garner favor from the conservatives,” Burnett said. “If he was concerned, he would have voted against the tax bill — cap and trade — and he would have voted against the stimulus. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a little too late, and a little too little.”

Hurt’s campaign manager, Sean Harrison, said Hurt would have voted the same way Perriello did.

“It’s clear however,” Harrison said, “that Tom Perriello is in the process of having an election year conversion — but occasional ‘bouts’ of common sense can’t distract from his liberal record.”