Consumers First Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 1500 and in support of the Consumers First Act.

I also want to thank Chairwoman Waters for her leadership and her stewardship in this endeavor.

I am proud to cosponsor this bill, which will return the Consumer Bureau to its intended role as a nonpartisan consumer watchdog that protects the interests of American taxpayers, not those of special interests.

In 2017, the Urban Institute found that 71 million Americans had a debt in collection on their credit report. Meanwhile, collectors estimate they contact consumers more than a billion times a year--a billion.

During the 2008 financial crisis, people lost homes, jobs, and hard- earned wealth. This crisis was the prime example of what can happen when nobody is looking out for the consumers who are left to navigate a financial system built to confuse, mystify, and capitalize on the most vulnerable.

In response, Democrats created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency with the sole mission of protecting consumers and holding lenders accountable when they put profits over people.

In my home State of Massachusetts, 46 percent of those living in communities of color have debt in collections compared to only 18 percent of residents in predominantly White areas.

We know that debt collectors engage in some of the most aggressive tactics: harassing, berating, and even falsely threatening legal action against vulnerable consumers.

My amendment would require the Director of the Consumer Bureau to issue quarterly reports to Congress, including an analysis of complaints submitted by consumers. The Consumer Bureau's complaint database has been a crucial tool to monitor harmful industry trends and agency enforcement efforts in defense of consumers.

Since the beginning of this administration, more than 62,000 consumers submitted complaints on harmful and unfair debt collection practices. The Consumer Bureau, under Director Mulvaney and now Director Kraninger's failed leadership, has returned zero--zero--relief to harmed consumers.

My amendment will require the Director to report on the various enforcement actions taken against these debt collectors because we cannot afford to go back to the days in which consumers were left to fend for themselves in a financial industry that was stacked against them.

Information is power. The more information we have, the more power we have to protect consumers from harassment.

Recently, the Consumer Bureau released a proposed debt collection rule filled with carveouts and loopholes that would allow debt collectors to more aggressively target and harass consumers through emails and text messages.

My amendment would prohibit the Director from issuing further rules that would essentially open the floodgates and allow collectors to bombard consumers.

I urge my colleagues to stand with consumers and to support my amendment.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Will the gentleman yield?

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Yes, that is correct.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Chair, how much time do I have left?

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Chair, I just think it is important to remind my colleague across the aisle that consumers are being harassed aggressively, and many of them did not even incur the debt for which they are being harassed. So we need to close these loopholes.

The current rule is rife with loopholes and carveouts and will open the floodgates for debt collectors to further bombard consumers. My amendment will ensure that the Consumer Bureau continues to put consumers first and protects them from relentless harassment. We simply want this data to be accessible on a quarterly basis because it will make it easier.

The Consumer Bureau is an independent agency, and it needs to continue to operate as such. Under Dodd- Frank, the Director is required to report to Congress annually, and the GAO office is required to annually audit the agency's finances. The efforts of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are intended to weaken this agency.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Chair, again, this is ultimately about honoring the very mission of the Bureau, and that is to put consumers first.

I support H.R. 1500, and I urge all of my colleagues to support my amendment, which will be a further effort to protect consumers and to guard against the harassment that so many Americans are experiencing every day.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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