In a speech invoking the reformist legacy of Theodore Roosevelt,President Obama said Tuesday that the Senate can help thegovernment protect consumers and restrict the excesses of businessby confirming Richard Corday to run the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau.

“For the first time in history, the reform we passed puts inplace a consumer watchdog who is charged with protecting everydayAmericans from being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders, paydaylenders or debt collectors,'' Obama said in a speech in Osawatomie,Kan.

“Every day we go without a consumer watchdog in place is anotherday when a student, or a senior citizen, or member of our ArmedForces could be tricked into a loan they can't afford – somethingthat happens all the time.”

The CFPB is an independent agency housed inside the FederalReserve. It has direct oversight of credit unions and otherfinancial institutions with assets of more than $10 billion, thoughall financial institutions have to comply with its regulations.

Until a director is confirmed the agency can't regulate non-bankentities, such as payday lenders and bill collectors.

The Senate is likely to vote on Cordray's nomination on Thursday, thoughSenate Republicans have said they will block the confirmation ofany nominee unless the structure of the agency is changed so it isrun by a five-member board.

Obama gave the speech in the same town where Roosevelt made amajor economic speech in 1912 and outlined his plan for widespreadeconomic reform, which he called a New Nationalism. Rooseveltchampioned business innovation but implemented stronger regulationand criticized the excesses of the “malefactorsof great wealth.''

In Obama's speech he made the case for a strong government totemper what he sees as the excesses of the private sector.

“We simply cannot return to this brand of you're-on-your-owneconomics if we're serious about rebuilding the middle class inthis country,” the president said.

“We know that it doesn't result in a strong economy. It resultsin an economy that invests too little in its people and its future.It doesn't result in a prosperity that trickles down. It results ina prosperity that's enjoyed by fewer and fewer of our citizens,''he said.