In 2008, our country witnessed the most devastating financial crises since the Great Depression. As a result, millions lost their jobs, watched their 401k’s and retirement savings diminish, and lost their homes. After months of hearings and contentious debate in Congress, I proudly voted for and President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
One of the highlights of this law was the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a consumer watchdog housed in the Federal Reserve devoted to protecting Americans from unfair and abusive financial practices. The CFPB was created to ensure hardworking Americans are not ripped off by predatory lenders and greedy institutions. The Bureau now requires banks and credit card companies to provide clear and accurate information to families and small businesses so bank loans, mortgages and credit cards are more fair and affordable.
Yet at every turn, Republicans have sought to weaken, delay and erode these consumer protections. Last week, they once again voted to roll back the clock to the days when Wall Street special interests were allowed to play fast and loose with our economy, leaving hardworking Americans to foot the bill.
Their harmful legislation guts the CFPB, which has helped more than 29 million consumers since its inception. It eliminates the CFPB’s independent funding mechanism that has helped insulate it from partisan politics and removes most of the CFPB’s supervisory and enforcement authority to oversee the largest financial firms, hindering its ability to hold these institutions accountable for their actions.
This may seem like a distant concern, but its impacts are real and felt every day. Recently, CFBP investigated Wells Fargo and determined the bank opened millions of fake accounts in customers’ names without their permission and fined the bank more than $100 million. Since its inception, it has returned over $12 billion to millions of consumers, including many Hoosiers, who were impacted by illegal practices by banks, credit card companies and mortgage lenders. This is real money that Hoosiers have earned, and it deserves to be protected — not taken by abusive lenders.
I helped bring the Wall Street reform bill to the House floor as a member of the Financial Services Committee seven years ago, and I will not sit silently as House Republicans and Wall Street lobbyists dismantle it piece by piece. Washington Republicans should stop doing the bidding of big banks and lobbyists and start working for the American people.
Let’s call their CHOICE Act what it really is: the wrong choice. It is a dangerous step backward, and I will continue to fight against it.
Rep. Andre Carson represents the 7th District of Indiana in the United States House of Representatives. Contact Rep. Carson at carson.house.gov/contact.
