[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12575]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CFPB

  Ms. WARREN. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I am here today to say happy birthday to the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau. This week marks 4 years since Dodd-Frank was signed 
into law and 3 years since the consumer agency opened its doors.
  The consumer agency was built to be a new kind of regulatory agency, 
one that would stand up for America's families, not for big banks or 
credit card companies.
  The consumer agency was not popular with big banks and their friends 
in Washington. The financial services industry spent more than $1 
million a day fighting tooth and nail against financial reforms and 
they vowed to kill the consumer agency before it was ever born. But 
thanks to the work of grassroots consumer groups across the country 
that worked very hard and got organized, we pushed back against the big 
banks' armies of lobbyists and lawyers, and we won. We succeeded in 
building a strong independent consumer agency with the tools necessary 
to protect consumers against the tricks and traps hidden in the fine 
print of mortgages, credit cards, and student loans.
  Under Rich Cordray's leadership, the staff of the CFPB has made 
amazing progress since it opened. This little agency has already forced 
big financial institutions to return more than $4 billion to 15 million 
consumers they cheated, and it has helped tens of thousands of 
consumers resolve complaints about their financial institutions. It has 
put in place rules to protect consumers from a range of dangerous 
financial products and to make sure that companies cannot put out the 
kinds of deceptive mortgages that contributed to millions of 
foreclosures.
  Recently the CFPB shared stories from people all across the country 
who have reached out to the agency for help with financial issues. One 
of these stories is from Ari, an Iraq veteran from Hull, MA. Ari and 
his father Harry told their story to CFPB. While serving in the 
military, Ari took out a car loan advertised directly to 
servicemembers. The dealership promised Ari that he would be able to 
afford the loan, but after Harry read the fine print, he figured out 
this was a terrible deal. So Harry filed a complaint with the CFPB and 
the agency's investigation helped to uncover scams targeting men and 
women in uniform. Ultimately, the consumer agency ordered the auto 
lenders to refund about $6.5 million to the servicemembers they 
cheated, and to agree to stop these practices immediately.
  This is just one example of how people are fighting back, using the 
tools of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It is also an 
example of how the consumer agency is standing up for families who have 
been targeted by scams and unfair practices. Together families and the 
agency are starting to clean up the market for consumer credit.
  Sure, there is a lot left to do. The consumer agency still has 
important rules to put in place regarding payday lending, debt 
collection, and arbitration clauses. The biggest banks are dramatically 
bigger than they were during the financial crisis, and there is still 
too much risk in our system and too much need for reform. We need to 
keep pushing for changes that will make our financial system more 
stable and more secure to protect consumers and to keep our economy 
safe.
  Stories such as Ari's and Harry's show that the consumer agency works 
and that the agency empowers people. In a badly tilted financial 
marketplace, the agency is giving consumers a fighting chance. This 
week is an opportunity to highlight these accomplishments and a 
reminder of how we can make Washington work for families all across 
this country.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________