On June 4, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, along with 10 committee members, introduced a bill to automatically fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) through the implementation of a funding floor.

The bill would require mandatory transfers to the CFPB of at least 12 percent of the total operating expenses of the Federal Reserve, as reported in the 2009 Annual Report, up to the amount determined to be “reasonably necessary to carry out the authorities of the bureau under federal consumer financial law” under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The other members introducing the bill include Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.).

“Donald Trump and his administration launched an assault on the [CFPB], 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 in a release. “Democrats are united in fully funding the CFPB when we take back Congress.”

The bill is endorsed by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

“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 [CFPB],” Alys Cohen, director of federal housing advocacy and acting co-director of federal advocacy at the NCLC, said. “Congress should swiftly approve Sen. 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.”

“By locking in a 12 percent funding floor and making disbursements mandatory, this bill ensures that invented legal theories cannot sideline the CFPB from protecting people from financial predators,” Adam Rust, director of financial services for the CFA, said. “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.”

“Restoring CFPB funding for robust consumer financial protections is a first step to rein in Wall Street, big banks and predatory lenders who have been emboldened by this administration to fleece people. This bill would help put our financial markets back in order after more than a year of skyrocketing junk fees, the explosion of scams and fraud, and unrestrained financial surveillance,” Tom Feltner, associate director of consumer policy at AFR, said. “Congress has the power to side with everyday people and their economic futures instead of another give-away to banks and big tech companies.”

“The CFPB has put more than $21 billion back into consumers’ pockets, underscoring that a strong and independent watchdog can make a real difference in the lives of millions of American families,” Mike Calhoun, president of the CRL, said. “This legislation would help safeguard the agency’s ability to continue protecting families from financial abuse, policing unfair practices and holding bad actors accountable. It would also ensure that no future administration can effectively dismantle the nation’s consumer watchdog by depriving it from the resources it needs to do its job.”