Category Archives: Letters to Congress

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Letter to Congress: Oppose HR 238 The Commodity End User Relief Act

“By freezing the CFTC’s funding at its current inadequate level for the next five years, this legislation exacerbates the agency’s most fundamental problem – a lack of resources to accomplish its mission. After the 2008 financial crisis, the CFTC became newly responsible for hundreds of trillions of dollars in previously unregulated swaps markets. …Even as it fails to address the pressing problem of funding, HR 238 would also load down the CFTC with additional mandates that would drain resources and act as a roadblock to necessary oversight and enforcement.

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Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes REINS Act (HR 26)

“The REINS Act is radical legislation that would upend decades of administrative law practices dating back to the New Deal era in the 1930s. The bill requires explicit approval of any ‘major regulation’ by both the House and Senate within 70 days in order for that rule to take effect. This requirement would create crippling barriers to administrative actions necessary to protect the public and implement the law.”

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Letter to Congress: Oppose HR 6392 — This Legislation Endangers the Economy

“Far from improving systemic risk regulation, this legislation increases the likelihood of big bank failures that could put at risk the economic security of millions of families. It puts unprecedented new constraints on the ability of the Federal Reserve to provide basic oversight of large bank holding companies, including provisions that grant an unaccountable council of international regulators statutory powers over U.S. regulatory decisions. It would also politicize bank regulatory decisions, granting the Treasury Secretary of the incoming Administration new powers to pick and choose which big banks must follow basic safety rules.”

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Joint Letter to Congress: 304 Organizations Say No Backdoor Giveaways to Wall Street

“The budget is not the place to try to force through provisions that are dangerous to economic stability or to families economic security, would not pass alone, or that the President would likely veto. We strongly urge Members of Congress to oppose any flawed funding proposals that undermine the CFPB, the Dodd-Frank Act, the DOL’s conflict-of-interest rule, or other financial reform and accountability legislation or regulations.”

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Letter to Congress: AFR, 23 Organizations Oppose Legislation to Undermine the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

“The undersigned consumer, fair lending, community and privacy organizations write to express our strong opposition to provisions included in the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 5983) that would severely undermine the effectiveness of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consumer complaint database. We also oppose two similar standalone bills, H.R. 5491 and H.R. 5413 (the CFPB Data Accountability Act). “

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Letter to Congress: AFR, 17 Organizations Urge Congress to Reject the CHOICE Act

“…we are writing to express our strong opposition to the “Financial CHOICE Act” (H.R. 5983) and to urge you to vote against this measure. Passage of this legislation would have a devastating effect on the ability of regulators to protect consumers and investors from exploitation and the economy from financial risk. It would expose consumers, investors, and the public to greatly heightened risk of abuse in their regular dealings with the financial system, and our economy as a whole to heightened risk of instability and crisis. “

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Letter to Congress: 17 Organizations Oppose H.R. 5063, a Bill that Would Block Pro-Consumer Settlements

“We are writing to urge you to oppose H.R. 5063, which would categorically prohibit federal settlements from including payments or in-kind relief to third-party organizations or others who were not direct victims of a defendant’s illegal conduct… Passage of this bill would make it substantially more difficult for settlements to provide relief to reach those harmed by illegal activity. “

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Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes The Financial CHOICE Act

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we are writing to express our very grave concerns about the “Financial CHOICE Act” and to urge you to oppose this measure. Passage of this legislation would have a devastating effect on the ability of regulators to protect consumers and investors from exploitation and the economy from financial risk. It would expose consumers, investors, and the public to greatly heightened risk of abuse in their regular dealings with the financial system, and our economy as a whole to heightened risk of instability and crisis. “