Today, the House Financial Services Committee completed a two-day markup of 25 bills, the bulk of which seek to undermine investor protections, threaten the securities market stability, and erode safety and soundness of the banking system. Much of the legislation advanced in these mark-ups fulfills specific recommendations by the extremist Project 2025.
Today, the House voted to rubber stamp bank mergers and accelerate the consolidation of the banking industry, harming depositors, small businesses, and communities. The vote is a giant gift to Wall Street banks and corporate monopolists. The repeal of this rule further threatens the stability of our banking and financial system and leaves families, communities, small businesses, and consumers more vulnerable to increased costs to access banking and financial services.
This week brought the big, brutal budget reconciliation bill into sharper focus as the Congressional Majority advanced tax cuts for the super-rich paid for by and severe cuts to healthcare and nutrition assistance through key committees. The combination of tax giveaways to those who need it least and benefit cuts slashing support for basic human needs t are a recipe for catastrophe for most of the country.
Last week, the Trump CFPB announced plans to stop enforcing its previously issued Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) interpretive rule, which improves the price transparency of these loans to help people understand the real costs, fees, and charges that can accrue. This step risks amplifying the harms of BNPL loans, which include lower credit scores, lost bank accounts, and predatory fees. And it represents yet another example of the Trump CFPB actively siding with predatory lenders.
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration moved aggressively to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), leaving the public vulnerable to predation by Wall Street, Big Tech, and predatory lenders, and satisfying the financial industry’s desire to operate without oversight. Elon Musk declared war on the CFPB, and the Republican-majority in Congress has largely aligned with the administration’s efforts to tear apart the CFPB.
Proposals from the House Financial Services Committee majority for budget reconciliation would defund and dramatically erode the effectiveness of key financial regulators under the pretense of generating budgetary savings as part of the House majority’s broader plan to pay for tax cuts for the very richest families, biggest business, and Wall Street firms. The real intention is to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the other agencies designed to reduce the likelihood and severity of future financial crises.
The House majority today chose to give Wall Street banks free reign to charge outrageous overdraft junk fees and to abandon oversight of payment apps run by Big Tech and Elon Musk. Along partisan lines, the House voted to roll back two popular safeguards created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Already passed by the Senate, the measures now go to President Trump to be signed into law.
Today, American Economic Liberties Project, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Public Citizen sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) urging them to block the proposed Capital One-Discover merger under federal antitrust and banking statutes.
AFREF submitted a comment to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on its solicitation on implementation of SB253 and SB261, climate disclosure laws for large companies doing business in California. AFREF also joined a coalition comment led by California Environmental Voters.
View or download a PDF of the letter here. Americans for Financial Reform, Consumer Federation of America, and Public Citizen led a letter in opposition to Delaware Senate Bill 21 (SB 21) with 29 additional signatories. If passed, SB 21 would overhaul Delaware corporate law