U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls for Strong Consumer Protection Advocate at CFPB

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, along with 43 of her colleagues, is urging President Donald Trump to swiftly nominate a strong consumer protection advocate to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) who will put working families ahead of Wall Street.

In a letter, led by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), the Senators also expressed serious concerns with the White House decision to install Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney as part-time acting director of the agency. Mulvaney has a clear record opposing the CFPB and has sought to abolish it.

“Through aggressive enforcement and supervision, CFPB actions have resulted in $12 billion in relief for more than 29 million American consumers who were cheated by financial companies,” the Senators wrote. “Assigning leadership of the CFPB to someone who already has a full-time job reporting to the White House and who does not believe in the CFPB’s mission jeopardizes the agency’s independence and effectiveness. We urge you to nominate a CFPB Director who will bring to the job both bipartisan support and a track record of being tough on Wall Street.”

The CFPB was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act following the financial crisis that began in 2007 to ensure that bad actors on Wall Street would be held accountable for fraudulent or predatory practices that take advantage of middle class Americans. Since its creation, the CFPB has helped more than 17 million Americans receive over $11 billion in relief from illegal and unfair financial practices.

The following Senators also signed the letter, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Al Franken (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bob Casey (D-PA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

The text of the letter is available here.