Tag: Protecting Consumers, Taxpayers, and the Economy

Wyden, Merkley in bipartisan letter rejecting Trump’s proposed BPA sell-off

The Trump administration has figured out a way to engender bipartisanship: Propose selling off U.S. federal power marketing administration assets, including Bonneville’s 15,000-mile high-voltage electric transmission system. Fourteen Democratic U.S. senators — including Oregonians Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley — have joined with nine Republicans in a letter to budget director Mick Mulvaney opposing the proposal made last

Merkley Raises Alarm On House Anti-Volcker Rule Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement regarding a House bill, H.R. 4790, that attacks the Volcker Rule by exempting banks under $10 billion from the rule and by eliminating enforcement oversight from four federal regulators, leaving the Federal Reserve as the sole regulator to enforce

Merkley Decries Senate Bank Deregulation Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Senate voted to bring a banking deregulation bill to the floor for consideration. The bill rolls back key aspects of the 2010 Wall Street reform law; increases the chance of future taxpayer-funded bailouts, as analyzed by the

Democrats push CFPB’s Mick Mulvaney on payday lending

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and Richard Blumenthal in a letter Friday rebuked Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for failing to explain recent changes at the agency, including delaying rules to rein in payday loans and dropping lawsuits against payday lenders. “You have failed

Sen. Merkley deems infrastructure plan inefficient

MEDFORD, Ore. — President Trump announced his proposed infrastructure plan on Monday and now senator Jeff Merkley is responding to it. President Trump has called for a $1.5 trillion plan to upgrade highways, railroads and airports. However, 70 percent of that funding is being asked of individual states and private investors,

Democrats to Trump’s CFPB chief: Who’s looking out for consumers?

Now the White House wants to weaken his office even further. And many Democrats are asking: Can the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau still protect consumers? The bureau was created by the 2010 financial reform law known as Dodd-Frank. Its mission was to protect American consumers from predatory lenders and bullying debt

40 Senators Stand Up to Protect Consumer Bureau’s Independence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown and CFPB architect Elizabeth Warren, today led a group of 40 Senators in standing up for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independence and power to obtain justice for consumers who have been wronged by

Merkley Slams Trump Administration’s Payday Predator Protection Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s  Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Consumer  Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced, on the same day that the CFPB’s new payday lending rules officially go on the books, that the bureau plans to rewrite the rules and will give waivers for lenders that

Merkley, Kaine Introduce Legislation to End Debt Ceiling Hostage-Taking

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As another debt ceiling showdown approaches, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Virginia’s Senator Tim Kaine today introduced new legislation aimed at ending Congress’ abuse of the debt ceiling as a political hostage. The Protect our Citizens from Reckless Extortion of our Debt and Irresponsible Tactics (Protect our

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