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Melissa Bean
Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
10:14am
Mon Nov 8, 2010

Bean: A Bad Fit For Consumer Protection Agency

Vote counting has been halted in the race for Illinois' 8th Congressional District, where Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean is trailing Republican Joe Walsh by a slim 350 votes. Clerks in Lake and McHenry counties say they'll wait until later this month to tally the final ballots. Bean gained ground late last week after provisional and absentee ballots were included in the tabulation.

If Bean can't overcome the deficit, she might have another job waiting for her. Politico reports this morning that the suburban representative's name is being floated to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the independent agency created to protect vulnerable consumers as part of the federal financial reform package. This would be a problematic hire. Bean, known to many on the Hill as "Wall Street's favorite Democrat," worked hard to weaken the regulatory agency as it was being constructed, authoring an amendment that preempts stricter state regulation of national banks on a case-by-case basis. The American Bankers Association lauded her efforts in a memo to its members. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, she's raised millions from the financial and insurance industries she'd be asked to police. While she deserves praise for making tough votes on health care reform and the stimulus package, it'd be difficult to recommend Bean for the new position.

UPDATE (11:39 a.m.): Wonk Room has more on a possible Bean appointment.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
3:13pm
Tue Jun 29, 2010
174 comments

Why Bean Voted Nay On Unemployment Benefit Extension

We noted yesterday that leaders in the U.S. Senate starting building support for a standalone piece of legislation to extend the filing deadline for emergency unemployment benefits through November. A Senate Democratic leadership aide even told the Washington Independent that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is working with members of the Republican caucus and hopes to move the $33 billion bill this week. But any reauthorization also requires the blessing of the House, which tried and failed today to muster the two-thirds majority needed to advance a companion bill (H.R. 5618).

How did the Illinois bloc vote? Illinois GOP Reps. Judy Biggert, Peter Roskam, John Shimkus and Democrat Melissa Bean all voted against the measure. Republicans Tim Johnson and Don Manzullo joined the rest of the Democratic delegation in support. (Reps. Mark Kirk, Bobby Rush, and Aaron Schock missed the roll call.) Here's a statement from Bean spokesperson Jonathan Lipman explaining her opposition:

“Congresswoman Bean supports a responsible expansion of unemployment to those who haven’t been eligible for the full benefit. However, the text of the bill was not made public before the vote and no legislative language was available on the floor despite the Congresswoman’s requests,  and she was uncomfortable with voting to approve a $34 billion bill without first seeing what she was voting on.”

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) said House Dems would call the same bill tomorrow under regular procedures requiring a simple majority for passage.  Hopefully, Bean will get access to the legislative language before that vote. 

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
3:15pm
Fri May 28, 2010
393 comments

House Passes Unemployment Benefit Extension, Senate Must Wait

The U.S. House passed a watered-down version of its economic recovery package earlier this afternoon, agreeing to extend the filing deadline for unemployment benefits through November. The measure squeaked through by a 215-204 margin, with the entire Illinois Republican delegation and Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean voting in opposition

Because of Republican procedural tactics require 60 votes and at least four days of "debate," the Senate couldn't take up the bill before it went into recess this afternoon. Unfortunately, the current filing deadline also expires on June 2. While Senate Democrats hope to restore benefits retroactively, about 200,000 people per week will begin to exhaust their insurance after the holiday weekend.