National CAPACD Opposes Anti-CFPB Legislation

The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) strongly opposes a recent set of bills introduced by Senate and House Republicans that undercut the independence and threaten the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The CFPB’s work is essential to protecting consumer rights and financial security of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.  AAPIs experienced some of the steepest declines in wealth during the housing market collapse and financial crisis. They were targets of many predatory practices from which any form of recovery would have been impossible without the CFPB.  The following bills would significantly weaken the financial protections that our communities rely on:

• S. 370 and H.R. 1030, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-TX), respectively, would eliminate the CFPB by repealing the section of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) that grants authority to the CFPB.
• S. 105, introduced by Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and John Barrasso (R-WY), would replace the current single-director structure of the CFPB with a five-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, making it vulnerable to partisan gridlock and halt the progress of making consumer protection a top priority.
• S. 387, introduced by Senator David Perdue (R-GA), would place the CFPB under the congressional appropriations process, letting lawmakers control its budget, instead of allowing the CFPB to receive independent funding as intended when Congress approved its creation in 2010.

Established under Dodd-Frank, the CFPB was created to protect consumers from the unregulated, predatory lending that brought about the housing crisis.  The CFPB also ensures that Americans have an advocate when they interact with consumer reporting agencies, payday lenders, mortgage loan originators, and debt collectors.  With the CFPB on their side, consumers now have fair and transparent access to consumer financial products and services.  
    
Since its inception, the CFPB has worked tirelessly to protect service members, students, senior citizens, and communities of color.  The CFPB has returned more than $12 billion to more than 29 million consumers across the country, has processed nearly 1 million complaints, and provides educational resources and tools consumers can use to make important financial decisions.  The CFPB has been instrumental to protecting our communities from deceptive and discriminatory behavior.  We urge members of Congress to protect the integrity of the CFPB and keep the financial system safe for communities of color and low-income families.