On the recordJuly 25, 2017
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.J. Res. 111 to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration rule. The CFPB is charged with protecting consumers from unfair and abusive behaviors by banks and financial firms. To that end, the CFPB's rules would prohibit provisions requiring that a bank customer surrender the right to participate in class actions. This practice undermines a consumer's right to be compensated for damages, particularly when they get nickeled and dimed by the fine print in financial contracts. Class actions often represent the only realistic option for consumers who are ripped off to the tune of a few dozen or a few hundred dollars, and they reduce the burden on the courts by consolidating claims, thereby saving money for both plaintiffs and defendants. Opponents of the CFPB's rule hope that, by prohibiting the consolidation of claims, they can make potential damages so small that the individual claims are not viable. Meritorious claims from aggrieved plaintiffs who have suffered actual damages would go uncompensated, and equally importantly, wrongdoers would go unpunished. I urge my colleagues to stand up for consumers and ensure that they can be fairly compensated by actual damages and wrongdoers punished.
