Consumers First Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairwoman Waters so much for yielding to me, and I want to than Chairwoman Waters and my former colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee for getting this important legislation, the Consumers First Act, to the floor.

The CFPB, as Members have heard, has been a great equalizer in our financial markets for regular Americans. It makes sure that financial institutions follow the law and that regular people are treated fairly.

Every business claims that they put their customers first, but what happens when they don't? For far too long, the answer was nothing.

We have seen the car loans at higher interest rates for people of color and mortgage products that almost brought our economy down and created and pushed us into the Great Recession.

Then along came Dodd-Frank and the CFPB, which set the table for the economic expansion that we have seen since 2010. The dedicated men and women of the CFPB have literally put $12 billion back into the pockets of victims of fraud, harmful financial schemes, and other abuses.

Let me say to my colleagues on the other side: Speaker after speaker has gotten up and talked about subjecting the CFPB to the appropriations process. They have claimed that they are against the independence of the agencies, calling them independent bureaucrats. That is exactly what their comments lean toward is taking away the independence of this agency to determine fraud and abuse and subjecting it to the whims of whoever is the President or whoever is the administration.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation because it is good for consumers, good for businesses, good for our financial markets, and good for the American people.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source