AFFIL Signs on to Testimony Supporting the CFPA

(July 14, 2009)  AFFIL joined several of our partners in endorsing  today’s testimony (PDF) before the Senate Banking Committee by Travis Plunkett of the Consumer Federation of America.

Here are two excerpts from what Plunkett told the Senators on the need to support the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as proposed by the Obama administration:

“We believe that, properly implemented, a Consumer Financial Protection Agency will encourage innovation by financial actors, increase competition in the marketplace, and lead to better choices for consumers.”

“[A] strong federal commitment to robust consumer protection is central to restoring and maintaining a sound economy.  The nation’s financial crisis grew out of the proliferation of inappropriate and unsustainable lending practices that could have and should have been prevented.  That failure harmed millions of American families, undermined the safety and soundness of the lending institutions themselves, and imperiled the economy as a whole.”

For more coverage of the need for a Consumer Watchdog Agency, click here and here.