Under legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) would oversee provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) previously found to be weakly enforced.
SCRA ensures that civil obligations like credit card debt, mortgage payments, trials, taxes and leases are suspended when service members are called to active duty or deployed overseas. Under the Military Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 2257, CFPB would be responsible for ensuring financial sector compliance with existing SCRA provisions.
U.S. Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, Tim Walz, ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Denny Heck, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced the bill.
“We could never adequately pay back the men and women who have committed their lives to protecting our rights and our freedoms, but the Military Consumer Protection Act will make sure they’re protected from predatory financial institutions,” Waters said. “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proven to be a tough and independent watchdog that all consumers, including servicemembers, can count on. We must ensure that they are fully equipped to continue fighting for hardworking American servicemembers.”
Service members and veterans are targeted by bad actors in the financial services industry time and time again, Walz said.
“By empowering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oversee and enforce compliance with existing provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, we will take a step forward in curbing the predatory actions of bad actors in the financial services industry,” Walz said.
Heck said service members who are focused on keeping the country safe and defending its freedoms should not have to be burdened by financial woes.
“In six short years, the Consumer Bureau has proven itself to be an indispensable advocate for military families, and it is past time to formalize that role by giving them the power to enforce our most important law protecting military families from financial harms such as predatory lending, evictions or unreasonable consumer debts,” Heck said.