by Jacob Goldstein

John Boehner, the House Republican leader, told a crowd of bankers to make their views known to lawmakers and Congressional staffers who are working on finance reform, Marketwatch reports. Speaking at a American Bankers Association conference yesterday, Boehner said:

 

Don't let those little punk staffers take advantage of you, and stand up for yourselves. ... All of us are hearing from our friends and constituents on lack of credit, you can't get a loan. The more your government takes and taxes, the more regulations you have to comply with, the more cost you have there and less amount you are going to have available to loan to customers.

Boehner said the Senate bill is likely to be much more conservative than the bill the House passed in December, which could mean the two chambers will be debating the legislation for a long time before anything gets passed.

Also at yesterday's bankers meeting, a senior bank regulator criticized the finance bill that Chris Dodd released on Monday. John Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, said Dodd's bill puts consumer protection above regulations that are supposed to ensure that banks are financially secure, the FT reports.

"In every case consumer protection has the edge and will trump safety and soundness and I think that is backwards," Dugan said. He also said the bill should give federal regulators more power to overrule state-level regulations.

The bankers association has argued that giving too much power to the states could lead to a "patchwork quilt of regulation," where banks have to follow different rules in each state.