Officers

Interim Chairperson
Judith L. Lichtman
National Partnership for Women
& Families
Vice Chairperson DON’T HAMSTRING THE CONSUMER
Karen K. Narasaki
Asian American Justice Center FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
Secretary
Barry Rand
AARP
Treasurer May 4, 2011
Lee A. Saunders
American Federation of State,
County & Municipal Employees

Executive Committee
Dear Member, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit:
Barbara Arnwine
Lawyer’s Committee For
Civil Rights Under Law On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we write to
Arlene Holt Baker
AFL-CIO
Marcia Greenberger
express our strong opposition to any legislation that seeks to weaken the Consumer
National Women’s Law Center
Linda D. Hallman Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) before it even has a chance to begin its
American Association of
University Women important work. We urge you to reject the measures being marked up before the
Mary Kay Henry
Service Employees Subcommittee today.
International Union
Andrew J. Imparato
American Association of People
with Disabilities
Benjamin Jealous
The Leadership Conference believes that the abysmal failure of existing regulators to
NAACP
Michael B. Keegan
look out for the interests of the communities we represent, or those of consumers in
People For The American Way
Floyd Mori
general, makes the need for a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection
Japanese American Citizens
League
Bureau perfectly clear. The bills being considered today, however, do not reflect this
Marc H. Morial
National Urban League priority.
Janet Murguia
National Council of La Raza
Debra Ness
National Partnership for Women H.R. 1121, the “Responsible Consumer Financial Protection Regulations Act,” would
And Families
Terry O’Neill replace the Director of the CFPB with a five-person Commission. This is virtually
National Organization for Women
Jacqueline Johnson Pata
National Congress of
identical to a proposal that was considered and subsequently rejected during the
American Indians
John Payton
process that led to last year’s passage of the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, Inc.
Consumer Protection Act.” If enacted, H.R. 1121 would undermine the very
Dennis Van Roekel
National Education Association
accountability over consumer protection that the CFPB was intended to provide. The
Anthony Romero
American Civil Liberties Union proposed Commission would be slower to respond to reckless or dangerous practices
Thomas A. Saenz
Mexican American Legal Defense in the financial services industry, and would inherently be placed in a position of
& Educational Fund
David Saperstein weakness relative to other regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the
Religious Action Center for
Reform Judaism Currency. As such, H.R. 1121 would benefit neither consumers nor financial services
Shanna L. Smith
National Fair Housing Alliance
Joe Solmonese
providers.
Human Rights Campaign
Randi Weingarten
American Federation of Teachers
Mary G. Wilson
Similarly, H.R. 1315, the “Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness
League of Women Voters
Sara Najjar-WIlson
Improvement Act,” would also weaken the CFPB relative to other financial industry
American-Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee regulators. It would greatly – and unnecessarily – expand the “veto power” that other
regulators currently enjoy over the CFPB. In other words, it would return more
Compliance/Enforcement
Committee Chairperson authority over consumer protection laws to the same regulatory bodies that
Karen K. Narasaki
Asian American Justice Center steadfastly refused to use it in the years leading up to our nation’s mortgage crisis. As
President & CEO
Wade J. Henderson
Executive Vice President & COO
such, H.R. 1315 represents not just an astonishing refusal to learn from the mistakes
Karen McGill Lawson of the past, but an insistence on making the very same mistakes all over again.
Page 2 of 2

A third bill, yet to be formally introduced, would prevent the CFPB from assuming responsibility
for the enforcement of consumer protection laws until a Director has been confirmed by the
Senate. If any piece of legislation was more clearly intended to encourage a filibuster of a
presidential nomination, one that would permit opponents of the CFPB to delay its
implementation into perpetuity, we are not aware of it.

For these reasons, we urge you to oppose the bills being considered today. Thank you for your
consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Senior Counsel Rob
Randhava at (202) 466-6058.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson Nancy Zirkin

President & CEO Executive Vice President