Under Consideration Today, House Financial Services Appropriations Bill Would Weaken Critical Protections for Consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) denounced the House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government FY ’18 appropriations bill, which is being marked up right now in subcommittee. The legislation proposes a dangerous deregulatory agenda, including the removal of borrower protections in the housing market and the evisceration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Created in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis, the CFPB has returned approximately $12 billion to 29 million Americans who were illegally harmed by financial businesses.

Melissa Stegman, Senior Policy Counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending, released the following statement:

This government funding bill is chumming for loan sharks. This legislation weakens housing regulations that are essential for preventing a foreclosure crisis like that experienced just a decade ago. It also takes the consumer finance cop off the beat by gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It would even give a free pass to payday and car-title lenders, who would be exempted from any CFPB regulation or enforcement actions.

The Consumer Bureau has returned money to American families who were cheated by financial companies, including those consumers who were illegally foreclosed on, sold fraudulent products by credit card companies, or scammed by Wells Fargo, and military servicemembers who were overcharged by payday lenders. This legislation would let these types of egregious acts go unpunished and let bilked consumers go uncompensated.

The Consumer Bureau has established baseline rules to stabilize the housing market. It has responded to more than one million consumer complaints and been a pioneer in financial education.

By critically undercutting the Consumer Bureau, this bill would feed consumers to the loan sharks. It should be rejected.

For more information, or to arrange an interview with a CRL spokesperson on this issue, please contact Matthew Kravitz at matthew.kravitz@responsiblelending.org or 202-349-1859.