Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau convened a Financial Fitness Forum, led by CFPB’s head of Servicemember Affairs, Holly Petraeus. The forumhighlighted the unique financial needs and challenges of America’s military families, and served as a forum for discussion of some of the financial products tailored to their circumstances.
The CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs helps to make sure that the men and women who protect our country are themselves protected from financial deception or abuse. As Holly said, “It’s our hope that the Forum…will be helpful not only to inform servicemembers about special military products in the financial industry, but also to inform the financial institutions in attendance about the unique needs of the military community, and to inspire them to find new ways to serve that community.”
Since the CFPB was established as part of Wall Street Reform, it has taken important steps to protect military families and all American consumers, including promoting clear disclosure through the Know Before You Owe initiative and beginning onsite examinations of the largest banks.
But currently, the CFPB is handicapped from exercising its full authority, because Senate Republicans refuse to allow an up-or-down vote on the confirmation of Rich Cordray as the Bureau’s first director. Without a director, the CFPB is unable to enforce the rules that apply to nonbank financial institutions, such as payday lenders, debt collectors, and buy-here/pay-here auto dealers—institutions that often target military families with deceptive or abusive practices.
If we are going to give our servicemembers the full protection from financial predation that the law provides, the Senate must confirm a director for the CFPB. This should not be controversial. But despite the importance of protecting our servicemembers, along with all American consumers, some in Congress and the financial industry are doing everything they can to dismantle the CFPB and financial reform more broadly.
We enacted reform because the insufficient regulations of the past led not just to abuse of American servicemembers and consumers, but ultimately to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression—a crisis from which we are still healing.
We believe that the financial system needs a set of rules and safeguards in order to protect military families and all consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices; insulate the economy from financial shocks; and make sure that taxpayers don’t foot the bill for the financial industry’s mistakes. We need to keep moving forward with reform—for the good of military families, the economy, and the American people.
That’s why the President said last week, “We are not giving up on this…We are not going to allow politics as usual on Capitol Hill to stand in the way of American consumers being protected by unscrupulous financial operators.” And fortunately for military families, Holly Petraeus and the CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs aren’t giving up either.
For more information on upcoming events and the work of Holly and her team, click here. And to see a video of the First Lady discussing yesterday’s forum, click here.
Jenni LeCompte is Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Treasury Department.