California Advocates Take to Capitol Hill to Urge Lawmakers to Keep Consumers Safe
California, Join in Opposition to Shuttering of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Warn that Efforts to Undermine Would Leave Millions Exposed to Fraud and Ripoffs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2025
Sacramento, CA – This week, hundreds of consumer advocates and concerned voters from 45 States and the District of Columbia will meet with members of Congress to insist they support a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Created in response to the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB is the only federal financial regulatory agency devoted exclusively to protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. However, Elon Musk and his DOGE team recently targeted this vitally important agency for closure.
Ahead of the meetings with lawmakers, over 300 organizations signed on to a letter demanding that the 119th Congress restore a strong and independent CFPB and vote against any legislative attacks on the agency. Attendees will urge members of Congress to stop efforts to undermine the CFPB, and call on legislators to reject plans to change the way the Bureau is structured and funded.
At the meetings, constituents will tell their legislators to oppose any measures that might be introduced in Congress that would roll back important consumer protections, including a $5 cap on most big bank overdraft fees, a rule to remove medical debt from credit reports, and measures to ensure fintech payment apps are supervised so they comply with the law and do not facilitate fraud.
Congress created the CFPB to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis. Since its launch in 2011, it has vigorously protected everyday people and their families against frauds, ripoffs, and market failures. This agency cracked down on junk fees, reduced medical debt burdens for 15 million people in the US, and fought lending discrimination. It holds financial institutions accountable when they defraud and cheat people, and it has returned over $21 billion to over 200 million people in the form of restitution or cancelled debts. In recent weeks, these gains for consumers have screeched to a halt as acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has effectively shuttered the CFPB through a stop work order and mass firings of both probationary and long-term staff.
The Trump Administration has halted several critical CFPB enforcement actions, including lawsuits to hold Capital One accountable for cheating customers out of $2 billion in interest payments on savings accounts, and to stop the SoLo Funds fintech payday loan platform from lending to consumers with triple-digit interest rates disguised as ‘tips’ and ‘donations.’
“The CFPB has done so much to protect small farmers and rural communities over the years,” said Maleeka Manurasada, Organizing Director at HEAL Food Alliance. “Trump and Musk’s dismantling of the CFPB is extremely concerning and will have devastating impacts on small farmers, rural communities, and everyday people. Rural communities are being left vulnerable to exploitation at a time when financial safeguards are most needed as communities struggle to make ends meet. We urge members of Congress to fight back and stand up for everyday people—not big banks and the wealthy few.”
“Since its inception, the CFPB has been a significant safeguard for working-class families, including returning billions of dollars to affected consumers, taking decisive action to reduce exploitative junk fees and medical debt, and creating a strong Section 1071 rule to protect small business owners from discrimination. As the Trump administration works tirelessly to dismantle the CFPB and aid billionaires and corporate interests in consolidating their power, we call on members of Congress to stand up for everyday people and save the CFPB!” – Doni Tadesse, Southern California Organizer, Rise Economy.
“Now more than ever the nation’s largest congressional delegation needs to understand the importance of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s role in keeping consumers safe from scams and rip-offs,” said Robert Herrell, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. “California’s members in Congress must push back on attempts to dismantle the CFPB and fight for consumers.”
“The CFPB was formed to advocate for consumers and protect them from abusive practices by commercial enterprises and financial institutions. It has consistently delivered tremendous value for Americans. The potential for commercial entities to take advantage of consumers is greater now than ever and it is imperative for lawmakers to support the CFPB for the sake of all constituents,” said Dana Douglas, Bankruptcy Attorney representing consumers.
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