WASHINGTON, DC, March 3, 2020 – Today the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Seila Law v. CFPB, a challenge to the independence, and potentially very existence, of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, which Congress created to protect consumers from unscrupulous banks. A decision against the CFPB could also devastate the independence of other Federal agencies, like the Federal Reserve, SEC, and FTC.
Alliance for Justice Legal Director Daniel Goldberg released the following statement:
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is doing essential work to protect consumers from hostile and fraudulent financial companies. It has recovered billions of dollars for consumers and held unscrupulous businesses accountable. Congress rightly created the CFPB to be independent, and the Court should not overturn an 85-year-old precedent to give banks and corporations even more power to influence our government. To do their best work protecting everyday Americans, agencies like the CFPB must be able to operate independent of political influence. This case is yet another test of whether the Roberts Court, including its two newest justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, will, yet again, side with the wealthy and powerful over those they would take advantage of.”