WASHINGTON D.C. — Consumer Reports called on lawmakers in Congress to vote against a proposed 70% reduction in funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which would dramatically reduce the bureau’s ability to provide effective oversight of the financial services industry. In a letter sent to the Committee, CR called on Congress to defend the CFPB and reject the proposed funding cut, and submitted a list of 30 consumer stories from people who have been directly helped by CFPB. CR also joined a national coalition letter sent on behalf of nearly 350 other consumer, civil rights, labor and economic justice organizations in urging the Committee to reject this latest attack on the CFPB. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to vote on the language to be submitted for the budget reconciliation package at a hearing today beginning at 10am EST.
“At a time of rising costs and so much economic uncertainty, the last thing most Americans want to see Congress do is to weaken the financial watchdog created to protect their wallets,” said Chuck Bell, advocacy program director at Consumer Reports. “The proposed 70% CFPB budget cut would leave consumers largely on their own and more vulnerable to getting ripped off by predatory lenders and unscrupulous financial firms. We need a strong and independent CFPB with the resources necessary to stand up for consumers and rein in abusive financial practices without political interference from powerful special interests.”
Congress created the CFPB after federal financial regulators failed to rein in risky mortgage lending, which triggered the 2008 financial crisis and resulted in millions of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure. Since its founding, the CFPB has helped tens of millions of consumers resolve their complaints with financial firms and secured more than $21 billion in refunds and relief for an estimated 205 million consumers who were treated unfairly.
“The CFPB’s work is more critical now than ever before as consumers face an increasingly complex financial marketplace dominated by AI, big tech, and new digital products,” said Bell. “The administration has already done serious damage to the CFPB by firing critical staff, dropping enforcement actions, and upending its priorities. This massive budget reduction permanently hinder the CFPB’s ability to root out discrimination and predatory practices that put consumers at risk of fraud and abuse.”
For more information on CR’s concerns about the bills being considered by the House Financial Services Committee, see the consumer, civil rights, labor and economic justice organizations’ letter to the committee.
###
Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org