Today Representative Dan Maffei voted with the majority of his colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee to take a major step in protecting consumers and reforming regulation of the financial industry. Today’s passage the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) Act, in addition to recently passed regulations on over the counter derivatives and the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, represents significant progress for the agenda of Financial Services Committee and Congress to overhaul the regulation of the financial industry.
The CFPA will have power to regulate products such as home loans and credit cards, as well as the authority to ensure current consumer protection laws and regulations are comprehensive, fair and vigorously enforced. In addition, the Agency would have supervisory and enforcement authority to ensure that all financial institutions comply with consumer banking laws and regulations.
Congressman Maffei said: “After the near collapse of the financial industry last year, it was clear that we needed to overhaul the regulation of a system too few understood and left too many honest consumers exposed. We have been working on overhauling regulations with legislation on credit card companies and over the counter derivatives, now the CFPA will provide consumers with that much needed protection. Last year, we heard about bailouts for the big players. Now, we finally will have someone who will look out for the rest of us - the consumers of financial products like credit cards and student loans.”
The White House released a statement from President Obama: “I congratulate the House Financial Services Committee and Chairman Barney Frank on passing a bill out of Committee to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The CFPA will prevent predatory lending practices and other abuses and will ensure that consumers get clear information they can understand about financial products like credit cards and mortgages. This bill has now passed a major hurdle and this step sends an important signal to the American people that we will not stand by and allow big financial firms and their lobbyists to mobilize against change.”
Merrilee Witherell, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of Central New York, said: “We are delighted that the CFPA has been passed out of committee by the dedicated efforts of Congressman Maffei and his colleagues. Throughout the process, the Congressman listened to our concerns and hopes regarding this legislation, and he took decisive action to ensure that consumers here in Central New York are protected from abusive home lending, real estate scams, and credit practices that have brought some families face-to-face with foreclosure. With the CFPA, consumers will finally have the protection and oversight they need and deserve.”
Elizabeth Warren, the Chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, released the following statement: “Thanks to the hard work of Rep. Dan Maffei and the House Financial Services Committee, we have come to an historic moment. For the first time, we are on the brink of creating a strong, independent voice in Washington on the side of consumers. The CFPA that left the committee is not perfect, but it has enough tools to help fix the broken consumer credit market and to create real safety standards in the industry. If the CFPA in its current incarnation had existed five years ago, America would now have a more secure middle class, less risk in the system, no financial crisis, and no $700 billion bailout for the banks.”
