To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Stand up for the Bureau Fighting Financial Scams
Elizabeth Warren's brainchild – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – has done crucial work to safeguard Americans against the abusive practices of big banks, credit card companies, and predatory lenders. Congress must protect the CFPB's important work.
Why is this important?
No matter what the news is on November 9th, Wall Street and its allies in Congress are gearing up to gut the main agency fighting financial scams. They will once again try to use the budget process during the “lame duck” Congressional session in November to undermine consumer protection and financial reform.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has recovered over $11 billion for Americans scammed by their financial company. At this very moment, the Bureau is making sure that Wells Fargo customers charged fees for fake accounts get refunds. Yet, no good deed goes unpunished: instead of praising the Bureau for their actions, the House Majority is using this opportunity to criticize the Bureau for not acting faster. That's rich coming from lawmakers who've supported bill after bill to slow the Bureau down.
Wall Street hasn't just fought the CFPB in the halls of congress, they've taken it to the courts, trying to freeze the agency's work through lawsuits aimed at stymying the agency’s work. This month, a panel of three federal judges ruled 2-1 that the President can fire the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without cause. This decision, which we expect to be overturned, is just the latest in a long line of attempts to hamstring the CFPB’s effectiveness.
The attacks on the CFPB won’t stop after election day. Will you join us in urging Congress to stand up for the essential work of the CFPB?