Congressman Moulton Votes Against Bill That Would Weaken Dodd-Frank Consumer Protections

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) voted against  the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act (H.R. 1195) which would weaken consumer protections under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The bill, which initially had bipartisan support, established three advisory boards to provide information about small business, credit unions and community banks to CFPB – an initiative that Moulton, and many progressive Democrats, support. Unfortunately, after the bill received bipartisan support in committee, Republicans attempted to undermine the agency by adding provisions to drastically cut funding, thus weakening consumer protections and losing Democratic support for the bill.  

“This is an unfortunate example of House Republicans choosing politics over progress,” said Moulton.  “The Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Board Act had significant bipartisan support until House Republicans attempted to slash funding to a debilitating level. Consumers rely on the CFPB for protections against abusive practices in the financial marketplace. Congress should ensure this important agency has the resources it needs to protect consumers.”

When the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was initially signed in to law in 2010, it established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the watchdog that protects consumers against abusive practices in the financial marketplace.  To date, it has provided $5.3B in relief to more than 15 million consumers and helped students struggling with the high cost of student loans.  Additionally, more than 2,100 colleges have voluntarily adopted the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet developed jointly by the CFPB and U.S. Department of Education as part of the Know Before You Owe student loans project.  

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