Gutting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would leave Rhode Islanders exposed to fraud and rip-offs, says EPI

"...recent steps to cancel enforcement actions and weaken the CFPB will certainly result in more Rhode Islanders being victimized by unscrupulous companies in the years to come."

From a press release:

The Economic Progress Institute (EPI) has joined hundreds of consumer advocates and concerned voters from 45 States and the District of Columbia in meeting with members of Congress to insist they support a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB is the only federal financial regulatory agency devoted exclusively to protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. However, Elon Musk and his DOGE team recently targeted this vitally important agency for closure.

“For over a decade, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has looked out for Rhode Islanders and all Americans, through its responsiveness to complaints and its issuance of a series of strong consumer protection actions against banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, debt collectors, and others,” said Alan Krinsky, EPI’s Director of Research and Fiscal Policy. “However, recent steps to cancel enforcement actions and weaken the CFPB will certainly result in more Rhode Islanders being victimized by unscrupulous companies in the years to come — unless policymakers in Washington, DC, protect the agency that protects us.”

Krinsky is participating in the Consumer Federation of America’s Consumer Advocacy Week. Yesterday, along with a representative from AARP Rhode Island and a consumer law attorney, Krinsky met with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and his staff. He emphasized the importance of the continued operation, funding, and independence of the CFPB in helping Rhode Islanders respond to unfair and fraudulent practices. The group also discussed rules on overdraft fees and medical debt, and thanked the Senator for his leadership in predatory lending reform and other consumer protection efforts for all Americans, particularly veterans and active duty service members. Further meetings with members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation are planned.

Ahead of the meetings with lawmakers, EPI signed onto a letter with 300+ organizations demanding that the 119th Congress restore a strong and independent CFPB, vote against any legislative attacks on the agency, and ask their legislators to oppose any measures that might be introduced in Congress that would roll back important consumer protections. These include a $5 cap on most big bank overdraft fees, a rule to remove medical debt from credit reports, and measures to ensure fintech payment apps are supervised so they comply with the law and do not facilitate fraud.

Congress created the CFPB to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis. Since its launch in 2011, it has vigorously protected everyday people and their families against frauds, rip-offs, and market failures. This agency cracked down on junk fees, reduced medical debt burdens for 15 million people in the US, and fought lending discrimination. It held financial institutions accountable when they defrauded and cheated people, and it has returned over $21 billion to over 200 million people in the form of restitution or cancelled debts.