Mcginty Calls for Toomey to Stop Attacking Consumer Watchdog

Press Release

Today, at an event with Western Pennsylvania leaders, Katie McGinty called on Pat Toomey to stop his attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and renounce his support for a bill that would gut this Wall Street watchdog.

Despite the fact that the CFPB is now holding Wells Fargo accountable, Toomey recently reaffirmed his longstanding ideological opposition to the CFPB, which he has attempted to defang and dismantle numerous times.

"We're here today for one specific reason, and that is to hold Pat Toomey to account for failing to stand up for his own constituents who were defrauded by Wells Fargo Bank," said Katie McGinty. "Instead, Senator Toomey has acted to try to defund and defang the consumer watchdog that brought the whole scam to light.

"Even as we're gathered here right now today, Senator Toomey is trying to push a very secretive bill that would take that consumer protection cop off the beat," continued McGinty. "That's wrong. The senator's priorities are wrong. In the face of what is truly a massive scam, the least the senator could do is stand up for his constituents instead of for big bankers.

"Donald Trump and Pat Toomey, are only looking out for those at the top -- the one percent," said Rep. Bill Kortz. They are the guys that Wall Street counts on. Senator Toomey has been MIA when it comes to the working class and the middle class. This election is about jobs and the economy. And the bottom line: Pat Toomey is bad for Pennsylvania."

"The fact that Wells Fargo was able to get away with this illegal and unethical behavior for so long should be worrisome to all of us," said Sen. Wayne Fontana. "This episode should also make clear how important the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is when it comes to protecting everyday Pennsylvanians from scams and financial abuse.

"This watchdog group has served thousands of people across this state. I did some research that revealed that since its creation in 2011, the bureau has helped more than 22,000 Pennsylvanians, including 1,700 senior citizens and 1,000 members of our armed forces, seek recourse from scams, and predatory, and misleading funds, and in this case, from one of the biggest banks in the world -- Wells Fargo.

"This should sound like good news to Pennsylvanians. So you have to ask, why is Pat Toomey trying to dismantle this agency?

"Even before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created, Toomey was a crusader to empower Wall Street banks at the expense of Pennsylvania families. Since 2011 and as recently as last week, Pat Toomey has voted and advocated to weaken the consumer protection bureau and roll back Wall Street reforms, even introducing and cosponsoring legislation that would do just that.

"Pat Toomey claims he's fighting for Pennsylvania's middle class families, but instead, the facts demonstrate that he's looking out for the big bankers on Wall Street," concluded Fontana.

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