A group of 193 civil rights, community, consumer, labor, faith-based, small business, farm and other organizations signed a letter urging the Senate to stand up for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and oppose “any and all efforts to destroy or hobble the agency’s ability to protect consumers and hold Wall Street and predatory finance accountable by stopping unfair, deceptive and abusive practices and enforcing protection and civil rights laws.”

The CFPB’s “vital mission is under fierce attack including by moves to zero out its stable, independent, and constitution funding in budget reconciliation, halt all of its work and fire staff, and abandon or reverse enforcement efforts,” the letter continued.

According to a release from Americans for Financial Reform, “The Trump-led CFPB has permanently dismissed 22 enforcement actions, and even attempted to undo settled cases, which experts estimate have already cost harmed consumers $18 billion.”

One request by the CFPB to terminate a redlining enforcement early that the courts approved was for Trident Mortgage Co., owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

On June 12, an Illinois federal judge denied a motion filed by the CFPB and Chicago mortgage broker Townstone Financial to vacate the settlement the two parties reached which resolved allegations of redlining against Townstone. 

“Congress must work to keep the CFPB fully funded and independent, so that it can continue to protect people from rip-offs, junk fees, fraud, and unfair treatment,” Patrick Woodall, managing director for policy at the Americans for Financial Reform, said. 

The letter detailed instances in which the CFPB demonstrated the importance of its work. The CFPB has:

• Helped families secure fair home mortgages and stay in their homes.
• Returned $363 million to servicemembers and veterans and stopped abuses that target them.
• Taken action to reduce unfair junk fees.
• Implemented critical measures to improve credit reporting.
• Protected student loan borrowers from unfair and abusive practices.
• Fought discrimination in lending and other financial services.
• Cracked down on unlawful and unfair debt collection practices.
• Put in place safeguards to protect people’s privacy, remedy errors and combat fraud on digital platforms.
• Brought multiple enforcement actions against deceptive high-interest rate lending.
• Collected critical data on home mortgages and is prepared to do so for small business and farm lending necessary for market transparency and fair lending enforcement.

“The CFPB’s rules, supervision, and enforcement protect people from fraud, junk fees, and unfair and deceptive practices that leave people with less money in their pockets every month and deprive families of the opportunities to build economic security and wealth,” the letter concluded. “The CFPB has taken on corporate lawbreakers and helped families make ends meet. We urge you to do everything in your power to make sure this work continues and is not stopped by attacks on the CFPB’s independence, mission, funding, or regulatory safeguards.”