Statements and Press Releases Archives - Page 2 of 86

News Release: Broad Coalition of State Groups Urges Congress to Reject Attempts to Gut Consumer Protections

Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee voted on party lines to strip away consumer and investor protections to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and corporations as part of the budget reconciliation package. The Committee’s legislation included deep cuts to the funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency dedicated to protecting people from financial predation and scams.

News Release: Private Equity Climate Risks project launches new private equity asset tracker, as part of its energy tracker, exposing continued fossil fuel investments by top 20 private equity firms

Today, the Private Equity Climate Risks (PECR) data consortium project launched an asset tracker with new data reflecting the state of private equity energy investments as of April 2025. This enhanced Global Energy Tracker includes the previous Global Energy Company Tracker, updated in January 2025, and the new Global Fossil Fuel Asset Tracker, providing an unparalleled look into the private equity industry’s role in the energy sector.

Statement: AFREF Statement for the Record for House ERISA and Retirement Security Hearing

View or download a PDF of the letter here. Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund submitted a statement for the record for a hearing held by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee titled “Investing for the Future: Honoring

News Release: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Announces Asset Manager Accountability Policy on Earth Day

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announced standards by which he will evaluate the net zero plans of the asset managers that oversee the city’s pension assets. He will recommend the boards of trustees of the city’s pensions pursue other asset management options through a bidding process should some of their current asset managers fail to meet those standards.

News Release: Broad Coalition Applauds District Court Shutdown of CFPB Staff Firings

Today, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court for the District of Columbia halted the Trump Administration’s attempted firings of 1,500 Consumer Finance Protection Bureau employees.

News Release: AFR Statement on Approval of Capital One-Discover Merger

The Trump administration’s approval of the biggest, most complex bank merger in decades will raise credit card costs for working families, sap the earnings of small businesses, and undermine community investment.

A book titled "Consumer Protection" on a desk with a gavel resting on top

News Release: AFR Statement on Escalating Attacks on the CFPB and the Communities It Protects

The most recent plans for the CFPB from the Trump Administration—additional dramatic staff cuts, a narrowing of the agency’s focus, and a reduction in supervision and enforcement—all send the same dangerous message: that bad actors in finance have permission to rip people off with impunity.

News Release: AFR Statement on Unlawful Firings of Two NCUA Board Members

President Trump illegally fired two Board members at the National Credit Union Administration yesterday, in yet another effort to incapacitate the agencies responsible for protecting everyday consumers and safeguarding the financial system.

News Release: Tax Day Spotlight: Tax Code Fuels Health Inequity, Medical Debt, and Encourages Medicaid Cuts

This Tax Day, Community Catalyst and advocates across the country are sounding the alarm on a tax system that prioritizes profit over people—and demanding change. While teachers, EMTs, and nurses pay their fair share, corporations and the wealthiest people in America are handed tax breaks.

News Release: New Guide Aims to Protect Communities Reeling from Climate Disasters

As communities across the country face increasingly severe and frequent climate disasters, a new guide released today by the Equitable & Just Insurance Initiative offers a slate of actions local and state governments can take to protect renters, homeowners, communities, and insurance policyholders.