Consumers First Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ESCOBAR. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I would like to thank Congresswoman Waters for her incredible work and leadership on this bill, which will help restore trust in Federal consumer protections and ensure those protections extend to all communities.

I also thank my colleague, Representative Golden, for cosponsoring my amendment. This amendment would direct CFPB to include representatives of military- and veteran-serving financial institutions in their advisory committees.

There are over 18 million veterans in America today and nearly 3 million Department of Defense employees. Many in these communities choose to bank with financial institutions that cater to their unique needs. These over 20 million Americans deserve a voice at the CFPB from technical experts who know how to best serve our veterans and military.

We know that many military members pick a financial institution and stick with it. That is because these organizations have the skills and experience to help servicemembers with challenging circumstances, like frequent moves and deployments, that the average civilian customer won't face.

These organizations help support our veterans and military at critical life moments, providing early capital to help start a business, helping finance a new home, and even partnering with educational institutions to provide technical assistance to veteran entrepreneurs.

They know the unique needs and concerns of their clientele, including identity theft during deployments, VA loan issues, and improper credit reflections that occur when the VA experiences administrative delays.

And they can share key industry insight to help CFBP ensure vets and servicemembers are protected as they move through financial systems.

On a personal note, I share my home, El Paso, with nearly 50,000 veterans and am neighbors with more than 45,000 military and civilian personnel at Fort Bliss. At Fort Bliss, we also train units from every U.S. State and territory, so our amenities end up benefiting many outside our immediate community over time.

Communities like ours deserve to be heard, and my amendment will help ensure that that happens.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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