Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee introduced a bill that would automatically and fully fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The bill requires mandatory transfers to the CFPB of at least 12 percent of the total operating expenses of the Federal Reserve, up to the amount under the Dodd-Frank Act “reasonably necessary to carry out the authorities of the Bureau under Federal consumer financial law.”
Ranking Member Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led the effort, along with Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tina Smith (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
“Donald Trump and his Administration launched an assault on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, trying to drain it of its resources so it could no longer stop big banks and giant corporations from scamming Americans out of their money,” Warren said. “Democrats are united in fully funding the CFPB when we take back Congress.”
The bill is endorsed by the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America, Americans for Financial Reform, Protect Borrowers, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Center for Responsible Lending.
“The cost of living has skyrocketed, and in the face of growing risks from predatory payday lending apps and crypto scams, this Administration is actively gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Alys Cohen, director of federal housing advocacy and acting co-director of federal advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center, said. “Congress should swiftly approve Senator Warren’s bill to restore the CFPB’s funding, a critical step toward getting Washington’s only agency dedicated to protecting consumers back to work.”
The CFPB has returned $21 billion directly to Americans who have been the victims of financial fraud.
“By locking in a 12 percent funding floor and making disbursements mandatory,” Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America, said. “This bill ensures that invented legal theories cannot sideline the CFPB from protecting people from financial predators. The CFPB’s record speaks for itself. Every dollar the Fed has sent to the CFPB has been returned many times over to consumers through direct remedies and avoided harms.”