- Magna Agrees with GM to Buy Opel: Exec
- Fed Statement, Walmart, Europe Boost Futures
- ‘The World Is in Trouble’: Deutsche Bank Chief Economist
- Stocks Gain 1.3% After Fed's 'Rosy' Outlook
- Days of Secret Swiss Bank Accounts May Be Numbered
- Stocks Bob as Investors Digest Fed Statement
- Corruption Found at Waterfront Watchdog
- The Nation's Long-Running Health Care Debate
- Stocks Rally as Home Sales, Prices Rise
- US, UBS Reach Initial Agreement in Tax Dispute
|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- Cramer: Citigroup Is 'Red Hot'
- Dollar Bulls May Gain Upper Hand: Forex Analyst
- Existing-Home Sales Rise, Helped by Lower Prices
- More Workers Are Increasing Retirement Savings: Fidelity
- Stocks Gain 1.3% After Fed's 'Rosy' Outlook
- Consumer Confidence Stronger in August: Survey
- Second Stimulus Needed to Avoid Lost Decade: Krugman
- Freddie Mac Posts First Profit in 2 Years; Shares Jump
- Housing Shows Stablization, Led By Strong Demand
- Why Ayn Rand Is Still Relevant
- US Home Foreclosures Set Another Record in July
- Beware the Triple-U-Shaped Recovery: Norbert Walter
- John Paulson's Hedge Fund Buys Big Stake in BofA
- Citigroup Forced to Review Management: Report
- GM Agrees to Sell Opel Stake to Magna: Exec
- Anheuser-Busch InBev Tops Forecast, Gives Soft Outlook
- Sugar Shock: Food Giants Warn of Shortage: Report
- Recession Ends for Germany, France as GDP Rises
- Ex-AIG CEO, Others to Pay $115 Million to Settle Suit
- Where is the $1.1M Sarah Palin XBox?
- Henes: The DIP Loan - The New “It” Investment
- California Still Issuing IOUs, But 'End is Near'
- Can Warner Bros Turn LEGO Into a Blockbuster?
- Fed Move Means Risky Treasurys: Pimco's Gross
- Want A $9.99 Flat-Screen TV? Nevermind
- Pros Say: Markets to Rise 10%—With No Pullbacks
- Where Exactly Are Home Prices Rising?
- Jordan's 'Last Shot' Backboard For Sale
Text Size 
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor declined on Wednesday to say whether Congress has the constitutional power to regulate financial markets, an important issue as the Obama administration pushes for legislation from Congress.
 |
AP |
At her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said she could not answer the question because there could be legal challenges to any legislation that Congress approves.
Responding to the economic crisis, the Obama administration has proposed an independent agency that would have broad power to write and enforce rules on financial products such as credit cards and mortgages.
The proposed new consumer agency has drawn sharp criticism from the financial services industry and concern from current bank regulators, but it has become a top priority for the administration and Democratic lawmakers.
Senator Ted Kaufman, a Democrat from Delaware, told Sotomayor that he thought Congress would approve a financial regulatory reform package and asked whether Congress had the power to regulate financial markets.
"What I can say to you is that Congress has certain constitutional powers. One of them is to pass laws affecting interstate commerce," Sotomayor said.
She said it would depend on the nature of whatever statute Congress passed, what facts it relied upon and the remedy that it instituted. Sotomayor explained why she could not answer the question.
"Because I can assure you, knowing every time Congress passes an act, there's a challenge by somebody," she said. "As soon as it's applied to someone and in a way that they don't like, they're going to come into court."
Under further questioning from Kaufman, she said that policy choices are up to Congress, and that deference has to be given to those choices.
Kaufman asked Sotomayor about her experience as a commercial litigator in New York, a job she held after being a prosecutor and before she became a federal judge.
She said she learned one main lesson—that in business predictability of the law is necessary.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes