Published: April 2017

The Choice Act 2.0 is the WRONG choice for consumers

Advocates are urging Congress to oppose the so-called Financial Choice Act 2.0, that aims to repeal parts and eviscerate parts of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including the centerpiece Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The (Wrong) Choice Act would grind the CFPB to a halt by turning it into a gridlocked Commission, and eliminate its independent funding. This irresponsible assault takes all the worst ideas and combines them into one toxic package.

Even though recent surveys indicate that the overwhelming majority of Americans want more regulation of payday lending, federal lawmakers are attempting to strip the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of any authority over these short-term, high-cost loans. The proposed legislation — dubbed the Financial Choice Act 2.0 — is a revision of the previous Financial Choice Act introduced by bank-backed Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling last year. The bill aims to roll back several provisions under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and limit the CFBP’s ability to oversee the entire financial industry.

Among the bill’s provisions are sections that would require the agency to get congressional approval before taking enforcement action against financial institutions, restrict the Bureau’s ability to write rules regulating financial companies, and revoke the agency’s authority to restrict arbitration. While each of these provisions aim to deregulate financial institutions, another measure would essentially move to prevent the CFPB from having any oversight over the payday lending industry.

 

Lead Organization

American's for Financial Reform (AFR)

Other Organizations

Affordable Housing Services | Alabama Arise | Alliance for Justice | Allied Progress | Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development | Bankers Small Business CDC of California | Billings First Congregational Church UCC | California Reinvestment Coalition | CAMEO – California Association for Microenterprise Opportunity | Center for Economic Integrity | Center for Popular Democracy | Center for Responsible Lending | Center of NYC Neighborhoods | Community Financial Resources | Connecticut Association for Human Services | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Consumer Law Project | Consumers Union | CREDO | Demos | East LA Community Corporation | Empire Justice Center | Enlace Communitario | Fair Share | Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection | Gemini Consultants, LLC | Georgia Watch | Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) | Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy | Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility | Law Foundation of Silicon Valley | Liberation Ocala African American Council, Inc. | Los Angeles LDC | Louisiana Budget Project | Main Street Capital | Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition | Massachusetts Communities Action Network | MFY Legal Services Incorporated | MHANY Management Inc. | Montana Organizing Project | MyPath | NAACP | National Association of Consumer Advocates | National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy | National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients) | National Consumers League | National Council of La Raza | National Fair Housing Alliance | New Mexico Fair Lending Coalition | New Mexico Voices for Children | Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California | North Dakota AFL-CIO | North Dakota Economic Security and Prosperity Alliance | Northern California Community Loan Fund | Oklahoma Policy Institute | One New Mexico Action | Opportunity Fund | PACE Finance Corporation | Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment | Petroleum Marketers Association of America | Policy Matters Ohio | ProgressOhio | Project Sentinel | Prosperity Works | Public Counsel | Public Law Center | RAISE Florida Network | Reinvestment Partners | Rural Community Assistance Corporation | Tennessee Citizen Action | Texas Appleseed | Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation | Unite Here | U.S. PIRG Vermont | Slauson Economic Development Corporation | Virginia Poverty Law Center | Woodstock Institute

More Information

For more information, please visit AFR's website.

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The Choice Act 2.0 is the WRONG choice for consumers   (CHOICEActIISignonFINAL.pdf)