Mike Calhoun, CRL President, testified that lack of regulation led to the foreclosure crisis. The Dodd-Frank reforms and CFPB are important reforms to prevent a future housing crisis, and will be good for consumers and the safety and soundness of our consumer finance system. Testimony was before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights responded to the CFPB's request for comments on qualified mortgages. Much of the comment letter focuses on an appropriate "bright line" debt-to-income ratio standard for QMs. Setting a narrow debt-to-income ratio for QMs would unnecessarily exclude a large share of borrowers from QM protections. This letter supports setting a baseline debt-to-income ratio on QMs while also giving lenders flexibility to go above it by considering other "compensating factors" that affect a borrower's ability to handle a loan successfully.

CRL President Michael Calhoun testifies before a House Financial Services subcommittee on the benefits of strong lending protections. Financial reform, including the CFPB, is good for American families as well as bank safety and soundness.

Unsustainable lending pushed us into the financial crisis, and sustainable lending and responsible consumer financial services products are needed to restore and maintain economic health. An independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as enacted by the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA or Dodd-Frank), is critical to reestablishing these sustainable lending practices.

A new poll reveals that American voters broadly support the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law, by a 5 to 1 margin, and across all political parties.

Overview of CFPB describes its structure, funding, duties and how it will work with the states to enforce consumer protections.

Presentation on key provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and mortgage lending

The auto dealer lobby successfully fought to receive a special exemption in the House from the rules of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the financial reform bill even when the dealers act as creditors and brokers on car loans. But fair, honest and ethical competition requires a level playing field, as well as a fair and consistent system for accountability.

The Snowe-Pryor Senate financial reform bill proposal would create a layer of bureaucracy that is redundant and dangerous. This language would prioritize small businesses over families, taxpayers and other key stakeholders.

To ensure that the CFPA is independent of the industry it is trying to regulate, Congress must ensure that the funding source remains independent of political pressure.

A brief by the National Consumer Law Center shows state-by-state markups on auto loan rates by race, revealing wide disparities between costs for African-American and white car buyers.

Consumer Advocates and The Pentagon Call for all Auto Dealer-Lenders to be Covered by Consumer Watchdog.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would actually reduce regulatory burden while increasing safety and soundness and making loans more affordable.

Financial companies are lobbying hard to strip states' rights to make and enforce consumer protection rules, but states must stay on the front lines of fighting predatory lending.

Here's a quick reference on what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would do, what it wouldn't do, and the most important parts of proposed financial reform legislation to help ensure strong consumer protections.

The Military Coalition expressed opposition via letter to the Senate Banking Committee about exempting car dealers from the financial reform bill on April 15 2010. The Department of Defense wrote a similar letter in February 2010 because car dealers have abused servicemembers.

Car Lenders Must Be Covered by the CFPA.

How Does Dodd’s Latest Financial Reform Bill Measure Up On Consumer Protection? Comparison of Senate, House, and Administration CFPA Bills from Think Progress: http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/03/15/cfpa-chart/.

In a letter to the Treasury Department, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced its support for financial reform, including the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, to protect its service members and their families from predatory car dealers.

CRL shares stories of everyday people affected by financial abuse and emphasizes the need for the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to ensure that they and others are protected from such abuses in the future.

CRL letter to Members of House Financial Services Committee outlining support and opposition to various CFPA amendments on states' rights, credit-related insurance, and carve outs for credit unions and auto dealers.

CRL's views on the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. CRL President Michael Calhoun testifed before the House Financial Services Committee on September 30, 2009, stressing the importance of an independent agency that also preserves the ability of states to take action to protect consumers.

A brief overview of how the Consumer Financial Protection Agency would ensure that banking is safe for all Americans.

The failure of the bank regulators to protect consumers is a systematic problem that has stretched over at least several decades.

As Congress considers how to address improving consumer protection and regulation of our financial system going forward over the next several months, we offer six essential principles for achieving true regulatory reform.

Kathleen Keest, Senior Policy Counsel at CRL, testified before the House Financial Services Committee on CRL's support for a strong, state-of-the-art consumer protection agency for financial products -- provided that the agency is independent of the companies it regulates, and fully transparent and accountable to the public.

This summary focuses only on the consumer protection component of the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform proposal.