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Roundup of Conflicted Characters Cheerleading the Predatory Lender Lawsuit Against CFPB [1]

['Emily Hoyle']

Date: 2023-07-14 13:36:16+00:00

“This is all about shutting down an agency that has been successful at protecting everyday Americans from industry fraud and abuse, having recouped billions of ill-gained dollars. The proponents of this lawsuit are both people who’ve faced consequences from the CFPB for abusing consumers and industries that support them. Americans face the most consequential rollback of consumer protections in history if the Supreme Court rubber stamps this lawsuit brought by unscrupulous predatory lenders with a serious ax to grind,” added Zelnick.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST BACKERS OF THE PREDATORY LENDER LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CFPB:

Republican Members of Congress: On July 10, 2023, a group of 132 Republican lawmakers, including several members of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committee, filed an amicus brief in support of the payday industry’s lawsuit.

An Accountable.US review found that members of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee took a combined $277,000 from CFSA and the affiliated INFiN, a payday trade group comprising of CFSA members

Americans For Prosperity: On July 07, 2023, the conservative Americans for Prosperity (AFP) filed an amicus brief calling the CFPB’s “budgetary independence incompatible with the Constitution” due to being “insulate[d]” the CFPB from Congressional oversight.

The organization has a long history of attacking the CFPB, also urging Congress to roll back provisions of Dodd-Frank. In 2017, AFP urged the U.S. Senate to vote “ YES ” on S.J. Res.47 to disapprove of a CFPB arbitration rule “ban[ning] mandatory arbitration clauses for everyday financial products,” claiming it “ removes customer choice, overburdens the court system, and forces consumers to pay more to solve their disputes. “”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: On July 10, 2023, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce led a financial industry-wide amicus brief in support of the CFSA lawsuit. The industry argued that the CFPB’s “funding mechanism violates the Constitution’s structural protections embodied in its separation of powers.“

However, the U.S. Chamber’s current President and CEO— Suzanne Clark —has served on the board of directors at TransUnion, which has been hit with multiple enforcement actions from the CFPB, since 2017. In 2017, TransUnion settled with the CFPB for $13.1 million in restitution and an additional $3 million in civil penalties for “deceptively marketing credit scores and credit-related products.” In 2022, TransUnion faced a lawsuit from the CFPB alleging the company violated the 2017 law enforcement order over its “ deceptive marketing ,” calling the company an “ out-of-control repeat offender .” In response to the CFPB’s latest lawsuit, TransUnion released a statement calling the Bureau’s claims “meritless,” while attacking the actions of the “CFPB’s current leadership” as “seek[ing] headlines through press releases and tweets.”

ACA International: On July 10, 2023, ACA International—the largest trade group for debt collectors—filed an amicus brief in support of the CFSA’s lawsuit. ACA International urged the Supreme Court to “affirm the Fifth Circuit’s decision vacating the bureau’s payday lending rule.” Meanwhile, several ACA International members have been hit with over $71 million in fines and restitution by the CFPB since 2018:

Landmark Legal Foundation: In July 2023, the conservative Landmark Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief supporting the CFSA’s lawsuit against the CFPB. The group echoed other arguments that the CFPB was in violation of the separation of powers, calling the agency “a wolf” for its consumer protection efforts. However, the group has ties to the Club For Growth, which has financed the campaign of Byron Donalds (R-FL), a staunch opponent of the CFPB:

Landmark board member John N. Richardson Jr. is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Club For Growth. The Club For Growth is financially backed by right-wing billionaire Richard Uihlein and has continuously and repeatedly attacked the CFPB, even calling for its abolition .

The Landmark Foundation has also received funding from right-wing investor William A. Dunn, whose capital management fund has over $1 billion in assets under management and is seen as the foundation’s main source of funding.

Continuing to support Byron Donalds, the Club for Growth spent nearly $3,000 on flight and travel expenses for the Florida congressman in March 2023. That same month Donalds reiterated his opposition to the CFPB during a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing as the sponsor of legislation to fully repeal the agency. Throughout his career, Donalds has taken over $117,000 from the group and individual contributions earmarked by the Club for Growth. Donalds is also a signatory of the amicus brief sent by the 132 Republican members of Congress.

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[1] Url: https://accountable.us/roundup-of-conflicted-characters-cheerleading-the-predatory-lender-lawsuit-against-cfpb/

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