ICYMI: Womack Amendment Protects Consumers, Redirects CFPB

Press Release

The House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2016 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill offered by Congressmen Steve Womack (AR-3) and Tom Graves (GA-14). Prior to any rulemaking, Dodd-Frank directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to conduct a study on the arbitration process of consumer financial agreements. The Womack Amendment, which passed by voice vote, requires the CFPB to conduct a new, transparent, peer-reviewed study to replace the seriously flawed Arbitration Study released in March.

"The Bureau published its Arbitration Study in March -- and it's a flawed study, both in terms of process and substance. It lacks transparency, it's not fair, it wasn't comprehensive, and it ignores requests from stakeholders and experts to help develop the metrics.

"The greater concern is that this flawed study will form the basis for a wide-ranging prohibition on arbitration that will impact checking accounts, credit cards, and cell phone contracts -- opening the door for more frivolous class action lawsuits.

"Our Amendment, this Amendment, seeks to halt this and take a closer look at the factors at play by requesting that the CFPB do a new study that is full, fair, and credible -- and among others things, maybe most importantly, transparent."

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