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In Letter to House Democrats, Hillary Clinton Urges Against GOP Proposal to Weaken Consumer Watchdog Agency


NEW YORK—(ENEWSPF)—October 7, 2015. With must-pass legislation looming before Congress to keep the government open and to avoid default, today Hillary Clinton called on House Democrats to stand together in opposition to Republican attempts to weaken important financial reforms in order to defend corporate interests and Wall Street. 

In a letter to Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Clinton underscored her strong opposition to Republican legislation to alter the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to weaken its effectiveness in defending working families. Additionally, she urged members to stand firm against Republican efforts to attach riders or otherwise take advantage of the upcoming negotiations over the budget and debt ceiling to promote measures that weaken Dodd-Frank and protections for consumers. She emphasized, “If Republicans want to hold the American economy hostage for the benefit of their corporate patrons, that’s a fight we Democrats should be ready to wage and win.” 

A full copy of the body of her letter to members of the House Democratic Caucus is below: 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has only one mission: protecting Americans from unfair and deceptive financial practices – and it’s succeeding. Since 2010, the agency has handled more than 700,000 complaints and recovered over $11 billion in relief for more than 25 million consumers. It has protected students against unfair lending practices, resolved credit report errors so families don’t get overcharged on new loans, and supported patients harassed by debt collectors for already-paid medical bills. It has put in place common-sense rules to combat illegal foreclosures and is proposing new protections for borrowers taking out payday loans. 

Despite the CFPB’s record of delivering results and protecting consumers – or because of it – Republicans remain determined to weaken or even destroy the agency. They’ve tried to strip it of its independence and cut its funding. They want to make the CFPB more vulnerable to special interest lobbies and less effective in defending working families. Some continue to advocate for shutting it down altogether. 

The latest assault comes from H.R. 1266, the Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2015, recently pushed through by Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee. Currently, a single presidentially-appointed director leads the CFPB, providing effective and responsive leadership. When a financial institution is breaking the law or ripping off consumers, decisions can be made quickly and forcefully. H.R. 1266 would undermine the agency’s effectiveness by replacing the CFPB director with a five-person commission. If this bill passes, consumers’ primary advocate in the U.S. government would have to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Perhaps that’s exactly what Republicans and their corporate allies want.

This legislation is just the latest salvo in the relentless Republican war to “defund and defang” the CFPB. It puts the interests of powerful corporations and lobbyists ahead of the needs of consumers and families. It’s wrong, and hope you’ll join me in opposing it.

I also hope you’ll stand with me in opposing any other efforts to roll back the Dodd-Frank Act’s financial reforms in the upcoming budget and debt ceiling negotiations, including attempts to attach riders and take advantage of “must-pass” bills. We can’t go back to the days when Wall Street could write its own rules. If Republicans want to hold the American economy hostage for the benefit of their corporate patrons, that’s a fight we Democrats should be ready to wage and win.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton 

Source: www.hillaryclinton.com

 


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