Trump’s Shutdown Of Financial Watchdog Could Burden Military Families

A new report shows how the CFPB has helped service members and veterans who may be more susceptible to financial exploitation and scams.

The Trump administration’s destruction of a consumer watchdog agency will end up hurting veterans and active members of the armed forces who are vulnerable to predatory banking and credit practices, according to a new report from public-interest groups.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been investigating a growing number of complaints from veterans who say they were fleeced by banks and credit card companies in recent years. But the White House has tried to shut down the CFPB and defund it as the Trump administration pursues draconian cuts across the federal government.

Those who served or are serving their country face unique risks that make them “targets for scams and inflated prices,” including higher rates on auto loans than the general population, the report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group found.

“America’s servicemembers, veterans and their families have benefited tremendously from the work of the CFPB,” the authors write, noting the agency has processed 400,000 complaints from those groups since 2011. “To protect those who serve, policymakers must protect the CFPB.”

Congress created the CFPB in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, tasking it with protecting consumers from abuses by banks, credit unions, payday lenders and mortgage servicers, among others. Part of the agency’s responsibilities is enforcing the Military Lending Act, which includes specific protections for active-duty service members and their families, such as caps on lending rates.