April, 02 2018, 05:00pm EDT
Mick Mulvaney's 1st Report to Congress
This statement can be attributed to Mike Litt, Consumer Campaign Director at U.S. PIRG, on OMB Director and CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's first semi-annual report of the CFPB to Congress:
WASHINGTON
This statement can be attributed to Mike Litt, Consumer Campaign Director at U.S. PIRG, on OMB Director and CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's first semi-annual report of the CFPB to Congress:
"As a member of Congress, Mick Mulvaney voted to outright get rid of the Consumer Bureau. Now he is using his platform as acting director to promote his own agenda over the agency's mission. He wants to take away the Bureau's independence and then make it harder for it to do its job.
This is the watchdog agency that has restored fairness and competition in the marketplace after a devastating economic collapse less than ten years ago leading to a lingering recession. It has taken over 180 legal actions against companies like Wells Fargo and payday lenders, processed over 1 million consumer complaints, and returned $12 billion to over 26 million consumers.
Recommendations in today's report, if implemented, would stop the agency from protecting consumers and prevent it from ever being effective in the future.
These are, simply put, attacks against the agency's independence from Wall Street and industry pressure. Mr. Mulvaney wants the Consumer Bureau to be the only banking regulator that has its budget controlled by Congress. Then, he wants it to be the only agency of any sort that has to get its major rules approved by Congress.
Congress is notorious for its dependence on financial sector campaign contributions. How many consumer protections will Congress approve? How much money will Congress allocate for this watchdog? Will a future director who believes in the agency's mission be effective if the president can fire them without cause?"
U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety,political corruption, prescription drugs and voting rights,where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress.
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Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which opened the refuge for oil and gas drilling, the Biden administration announced the second of two lease sales, set to be held on January 9, 2025.
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