Scotus Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

In The News: Supreme Court rebuffs challenge to consumer protection agency (NBC)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who proposed that the bureau be created and helped set it up, welcomed the decision in a celebratory appearance outside the Supreme Court building… Consumer advocates and financial services industry critics expressed relief about Thursday’s ruling. “This decision removes a major threat to the agency’s work and reaffirms the independence that allows it to continue standing up for the public interest against abusive financial practices,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.

News Release: Supreme Court Delivers Rare Good News for Consumers

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the funding method Congress chose for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, allowing a vital agency to continue its work in holding Wall Street and predatory lenders to account, and promoting economic and racial justice. The case stems from a lawsuit against the CFPB brought by the Community Financial Services Association over a regulation that prohibited lenders from withdrawing funds from consumer accounts after two failed attempts due to lack of funds. CFSA, a lobby group for payday lenders, argued that the CFPB’s funding, which is drawn from the Federal Reserve, is unconstitutional.

News Release: Payday Lender, Eastman Briefs Highlight Weak Legal Case Against CFPB

Washington, D.C. — Briefs filed by the payday lending lobby and John Eastman, the lawyer who tried to help former President Trump overturn the 2020 election, highlight the extremely weak legal case that this predatory industry has against the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a vital federal agency that polices the financial services market on behalf of everyday people.

News Release: Supreme Court Signals Gravity of Fifth Circuit Ruling by Taking CFPB Case

Washington, D.C. – The Supreme Court’s decision to take up a case in which the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals attacked the funding mechanism of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognizes that the lower court has produced a decision threatening consumers, honest businesses, and the financial system itself.

Amicus Brief: Uphold the President’s Cancellation of Student Debt

AFR joined partners as amici in urging the United State Supreme Court in upholding the President’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers. This cancellation has the power to shift the racial wealth gap, free borrowers of the weight of student loan debt and potentially plant BIPOC communities on even ground with their white counterparts.

AFR Statement: Kavanaugh and Anniversary of Wall Street Reform

Brett Kavanaugh’s ruling, later overturned by the full DC circuit, that an independant CFPB is unconstitutional, is but one powerful indicator of the danger he would pose as a Supreme Court justice. Stripping financial regulators like CFPB of their independence means weaker consumer protections.

AFR Statement: Kavanaugh on Scotus Would Signal Attack on Wall Street Regulation

Kavanaugh found that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was unconstitutional but was overturned in a thoughtfully reasoned decision that found many faults with his analysis. Independent agencies, which have existed in the United States for nearly a century, are vital institutions for creating a government that does not only serve wealthy interests.