Oppose Moran & Demint Amendments to S. 782

Recipient: U.S. Senate

Dear Senator:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to express our strong opposition to any measure that seeks to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) before it even has a chance to begin its important work. We urge you to reject the Moran (#391) and DeMint (#394) amendments to S.782, the Economic Development Revitalization Act.

The Leadership Conference believes that the abysmal failure of existing regulators to look out for the interests of the communities we represent, or those of consumers in general, makes the need for a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau perfectly clear. The Moran and DeMint amendments would represent not merely a failure to learn from the mistakes of the past, but a stubborn insistence on making the very same mistakes all over again.

The Moran amendment (#391) would replace the Director of the CFPB with a six- person board of directors, three of whom would be the heads of other regulatory bodies. This is even worse than a proposal that was considered and rejected during the process that led to last year’s enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. If adopted, the Moran amendment would undermine the very accountability over consumer protection that the CFPB was intended to provide. The proposed board would be slow to respond to reckless or dangerous practices in the financial services industry, if at all – and it would be placed at the mercy of other regulators who comprise half of the board, including the Comptroller of the Currency. As such, the Moran amendment would benefit neither consumers nor financial services providers.

The DeMint amendment (#394) would repeal the Dodd-Frank law in its entirety. It is not even worthy of serious discussion.

Again, we urge you to oppose the Moran and DeMint amendments. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Senior Counsel Rob Randhava at (202) 466-6058.

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President