Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 385, S.J. Res. 129. Mr. President, I am encouraging my colleagues to support S.J. Res. 129, which is my amendment to restore the Consumer Financial…
Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 385, S.J. Res. 129.
Mr. President, I am encouraging my colleagues to support S.J. Res. 129, which is my amendment to restore the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule that gives States more power to protect their consumers.
In 2022, the Consumer Bureau issued an interpretive rule declaring that the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is the Federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information, can mostly be overridden by State law. That means States are allowed to regulate credit reporting without the Federal Government stepping in to say that they can't.
For example, 15 States have laws on the books banning medical debt from counting toward credit reports, and several States have limits on which eviction records are included in credit reports, easing the burden on tenants who are having trouble renting.
Under the Consumer Bureau's 2022 rule, these laws would stand, but now, the Trump administration is trying to replace the Consumer Bureau's rule with one that does the exact opposite. This new rule would make Federal law preempt State law, so States can no longer take action to ensure that consumers get a fair shake when trying to buy a house or get a loan. That is rich coming from an administration that supports States' rights.
So as a former attorney general, I believe strongly that States need the ability to protect Americans from financial exploitation. The Trump administration is working to gut the CFPB Bureau, and that leaves consumers in every State open to abuse. It is just unacceptable.
In the absence of a Federal Government that wants to protect Americans, individual States are stepping up and passing their own laws to support their residents.
If the Trump administration isn't going to support a strong Bureau, then they should let the States do what they refuse to do, but instead, this administration is trying to stop States from stepping in entirely. That is why I filed this joint resolution of disapproval, and I would ask my colleagues to support it.
Vote on Motion to Proceed
