WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement following arguments in CFPB v. CFSA, the Supreme Court case on the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure:
“I applaud the Solicitor General for her powerful defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the tens of millions of Americans whom it protects. There should be no question of the CFPB’s constitutionality; no court has ever ruled that Congress is prohibited from passing a law that authorizes spending.
“This case was brought by the predatory lenders and special interests who have historically rigged our economy and don’t like the CFPB fighting back for the people. Consumer protection cuts into their profits. Well I’ve got a message for the plaintiffs: that’s simply too bad.
“In the 12 years since it was founded, the CFPB has put $17.5 billion back in the pockets of the American people, provided $175 million in relief to service members and veterans harmed by corporate abuse, and put $4 billion in its fund for victims of illegal violations of consumer protections. The agency has pursued action to remove medical debt from credit reports, forced Wells Fargo to return more than $2 billion to customers that resulted from illegal auto and mortgage lending practices, and protected millions from junk fees. If the Supreme Court rules against the CFPB, it will be ruling against those actions, and the millions of working- and middle-class people they have served.
“A ruling against the CFPB would have catastrophic consequences. It could endanger the guaranteed funding of Medicare and Social Security and unwind the progress we’ve made since the 2008 crisis to fight predatory banks and corporations. It would also be an admission of the Supreme Court’s corruption, confirming that the justices are perfectly comfortable to collect undisclosed gifts from wealthy benefactors, engage in conflicts of interest, and then remove every safeguard from those same forces defrauding our constituents out of their hard-earned income.
“I urge the court’s far-right majority to remember their constitutional obligation to the American people — not their own interests.”
