Letters to Congress Archives - Page 26 of 41 - Americans for Financial Reform

Letter to Congress: AFR Urges Senate Committee on Agriculture to Oppose “Commodity End User Relief Act”

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to urge you to vote against the “Commodity End User Relief Act”, a bill that reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and makes other statutory changes. This legislation makes no progress at all on the key issue facing the CFTC, the severe level of underfunding that prevents the agency from fully and properly implementing its new responsibilities under the Dodd Frank Act. “

Letter to Congress: AFR Urges Congress to Preserve Financial Protections, Oppose HR 3340

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing to express our opposition to HR 3340.[1] This legislation would eliminate the independent funding for the Financial Stability Oversight Commission (FSOC) and its research arm, the Office of Financial Research (OFR), subjecting the budget for these agencies to the appropriations process. It would also require that the OFR provide a 90 day notice and comment period prior to issuing any report or rule, and report in advance the details of planned spending to Congress.”

Letter to Congress: Public Interest and Labor Organizations Urge Congress to Reject “Commodity End User Relief Act”

“On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are writing to urge you to vote against the “Commodity End User Relief Act”, a bill that reauthorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and makes other statutory changes. The CFTC’s role in regulating commodity and derivatives markets is vital to businesses that use commodity markets to hedge risks, vital to the economic well-being of American families who rely on affordable prices for products like gasoline and food, and vital to overall financial stability. “

Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes HR 1261, Legislation to Revoke CFPB’s Independent Funding

“Americans for Financial Reform urges you to oppose HR 1261 or any similar bills to undermine the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by subjecting it to the appropriations process. Independent funding is a common characteristic of the federal bank regulatory agencies… Like the other federal bank regulators – the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve – the CFPB does not receive appropriations. While other bank regulators have mechanisms to increase their own independent funding, only the CFPB’s budget is capped by Congress. “

Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes Repeal of Dodd-Frank Resolution Authority

“we urge you to reject any effort to repeal Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act, which establishes an orderly liquidation authority for large financial institutions. Orderly liquidation authority is a crucial backstop designed to ensure that systemically important financial institutions can never again hold up the public for bailouts. During the financial crisis of 2008, policymakers of both parties bailed out big banks because they claimed not to have the legal authority to restructure failed financial institutions. “

AFR Statement: AFR Statement for the Record on the Senate Banking Committee Hearing “Assessing the Effects of Consumer Finance Regulations”

“It is less than five years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established. Since then, the CFPB has fulfilled Congress’s vision of a federal agency with “the authority and accountability to ensure that existing consumer protection laws and regulations are comprehensive, fair, and vigorously enforced.”

Fact Sheet: Community Banks Are Alive And Well Under Dodd-Frank

“Community Banks Have Returned to Profitability: The percentage of community banks that are profitable has increased every year since 2009. For the year 2015, over 95% of the nation’s 5,880 community banks showed a profit. This is up from 78% in 2010, the year Dodd-Frank passed.”

Letter to Congress: AFR Opposes New Exemptions to the Volcker Rule, Calls on Committee to Reject HR 4096

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing here to express our opposition to HR 4096, the “Investor Clarity and Bank Parity Act”, as it is currently drafted. HR 4096 would create a new exemption to Volcker Rule restrictions on naming practices for investment funds advised by banks or their affiliates. “

Letter to Congress: AFR Urges House Financial Services Committee to Hold Wall Street Accountable

“On behalf of Americans for Financial Reform, we are writing here to express our opposition to seven of the bills under consideration before the Committee today… These bills all move in the direction of less accountability for Wall Street, which is a move in precisely the wrong direction. The financial crisis of 2008 – and continuing examples of financial sector malfeasance and irresponsibility since then — have made the need for more vigorous regulation painfully clear. Instead of working to eliminate consumer, investor, and systemic protections, the committee should focus on completing the job of strengthening them.”

Letter to Congress: AFR, Public Citizen and Five Organizations Advocates for Congress to Let the SEC do its Job, Reject HR 3798

“The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose HR 3798, the Due Process Restoration Act of 2015… HR 3798 would make it more difficult for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold companies accountable when they break the law – even as those same firms frequently deny basic due process to their investors and customers through forced arbitration.”