Minnesota lawmakers who voted against consumer agency are flush with banking cash

Minnesota members of the U.S. House of Representatives who voted to restrict the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Thursday received three times as many donations from banking industry supporters of the legislation as those who voted against the restrictions.

The bill, which opponents said would cripple the new agency, passed the House 241-173 Thursday. Ten Democrats jumped the aisle to support it with Republicans. But the Democrats who control the Senate oppose it, and Pres. Barack Obama has vowed to veto it.

The bill would have given a panel of banking interests, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the ability to override decisions from the new agency. It also would have replaced the agency’s director with a bipartisan commission.

On average, lawmakers who voted yes on the bill received about twice as much in donations from banking industry backers as those who opposed it, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics dating back to 2009 and compiled by Maplight.

In Minnesota, lawmakers who supported the bill, all Republicans, received almost three times the donations from banking industry supporters of the legislation as opponents did. U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen received the most in the delegation, receiving $74,400 since 2009. Paulsen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment (this post will be updated if he responds).

Former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray was nominated by Obama to head the agency as Elizabeth Warren, who Republicans opposed, departs. But the Washington Post reports that Senate Republicans have vowed to block Cordray’s appointment unless the president agrees to change the agency’s structure.

“This legislation is part of Republicans’ stated goal to dismantle Wall Street reform — protecting special interests but leaving Americans unprotected from another crisis,” the House’s second-ranked Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said.

U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison and Michele Bachmann did not vote. Ellison was out of Congress on an excused absence after injuring his knee in a fall last week, according to his spokesperson. He’s expected to return to voting on Monday. Bachmann is on the presidential campaign trail in Iowa.