"We need a cop on the beat to make sure no one steals your purse on Main Street and no one steals your pension on Wall Street."

SOMERVILLE, MA – With the Republicans in Congress taking action to undermine the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she helped create, consumer advocate and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren recalled the financial crisis of 2008 and called for greater accountability for Wall Street and "the people who broke this economy."

"More than three years since the greatest financial crisis in generations, working families are still suffering from unemployment, underwater mortgages, and other economic pressures while there has still been no real accountability for the people who broke this economy," said Warren. "The people whose illegal actions are responsible for this crisis need to be prosecuted and thrown in jail."

"We need a cop on the beat to make sure no one steals your purse on Main Street and no one steals your pension on Wall Street," Warren said.

Warren's call for greater accountability for Wall Street comes on the heels of a Republican vote by the House Financial Services Committee to undermine the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the new consumer watchdog agency that seeks to protect families from predatory lenders, to eliminate tricks and traps buried in the fine print of credit card agreements, and to create streamlined forms that are easier for businesses and consumers to use.

On April 18, the House Financial Services Committee voted to change the CFPB's funding structure, from independent funding through the Federal Reserve, to the congressional appropriations process, which is subject to lobbying and politics. Other banking regulators have independent funding in order to ensure they remain separate from political influence.

"The House Republicans are engaged in a backdoor attempt to weaken consumer protection and water down oversight," said Warren.  "If Congress really cares about middle class families—and the health of our entire economy—it must ensure there is real accountability for Wall Street."

Warren is widely credited with the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she served as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury in 2010 and 2011, with the authority to set up the consumer agency. Time Magazine named her one of the "New Sheriffs of Wall Street" for her clear and fearless oversight efforts on behalf of the American people.