Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1315, which would fundamentally-weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and leave consumers unprotected from the predatory lending practices that helped cause the Great Recession.

This week marks one year since President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) into law and provided long-overdue protection for consumers. Instead of building on the reforms and making them stronger, House Republicans are delaying and defunding parts of the Wall Street Reform law that will protect consumers the most. H.R. 1315 is just the latest example of House Republicans siding with Wall Street lobbyists over the best interests of their constituents.

This misguided bill would further delay the core functions of the CFPB and undermine its structure by replacing its director with a five-member commission. H.R. 1315 also threatens the independence of the CFPB by making it easier for the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to override the CFPB's regulations. This is the wrong approach. In order to effectively oversee the $3 trillion consumer finance industry, the CFPB must be able to operate independently from other regulatory agencies.

H.R. 1315 would do nothing but prevent the CFPB from carrying out its duties of curbing abuses by big banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, homes, life savings, and pensions because of the recklessness of some on Wall Street. Now is the time to strengthen consumer protection laws, not weaken them.

I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 1315.

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