WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Joint Economic Committee Democrats launched the seventh episode of “Opportunity Agenda,” a podcast that furthers the conversation on how to build an economic future where all American families have a fair shot at getting ahead. Episode 7, “Examining What’s at Stake With the CFPB,” looks at the actions that the Trump administration have taken at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that are harming consumers, instead of protecting them as the agency is charged to do. The podcast comes ahead of today’s Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on the president’s nominee for CFPB director, Kathy Kraninger.

This episode features several experts on the CFPB, including Scott Astrada, director of Federal Advocacy at the Center For Responsible Lending; José Alcoff, payday campaign manager at Americans for Financial Reform; and Linda Jun, senior policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform. In the podcast, they discuss the importance of the CFPB in protecting consumers against predatory and abusive economic practices that led to the Great Recession, and the recent changes that have occurred under acting director Mick Mulvaney and the Trump administration that threaten consumers.

Below are several excerpts from the podcast:

Linda Jun:

“Whether you are rich or poor, really in this country everything is driven by consumer transactions of how you live your life. Everyone should care about the CFPB because it’s the government agency that makes sure all of those transactions are conducted in a way that is fair, and that regular people are protected.”

Scott Astrada:

"It's the only agency whose mission is to protect consumers. It's not an understatement to say this is quite revolutionary and the extent of the [financial] crisis really called for that."

José Alcoff:

"It's been an incredible kind of erosion [Trump administration actions] recently, but these are really, really important basic functions [CFPB’s mission] that people across the country should be able to look to Washington and expect.”

 

Missed episodes 1-6? Catch up on iTunes or on our website. To listen to this episode on our website, click here. To subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, click here.

###