Senior Director, Federal Consumer Program
ConnPIRG Latest Blog Posts
7/30/2021
President Biden's recent Executive Order on promoting competition in the economy includes several specific recommendations on improving competition in the financial sector. It proposes that the CFPB give consumers more choices by giving them control of their financial data. It proposes that regulators strengthen oversight of bank mergers, which for years have been routinely rubber-stamped. While it doesn't specifically address the payment system oligopoly that raises the prices everyone pays, lowering swipe fees is also a logical outcome of the EO.
Cover photo of the Marriner Eccles Federal Reserve Building, Washington, DC by Rafael Saldaña via Flickr, Some Rights Reserved.
7/29/2021
7/26/2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau celebrated its 10th birthday last Wednesday. It begins its second decade refocused on its mission of protecting you and me after a few years of, ironically, championing shady business practices over consumers. The agency’s first decade was full of success, setbacks, and promise.
7/22/2021
"The FCC is done asking nicely or urging or begging phone companies to fight robocall."
7/20/2021
Today, the U.S. House takes a key vote. HR2668, the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act, would restore the FTC's Section 13(b) authority to hold wrongdoers accountable and compensate consumer-victims harmed by their actions. The Supreme Court had recently ruled that the power, used for over 40 years to recover billions, was not clearly articulated in law.
Cover photo via Flickr by Mr. Blue MauMau, some rights reserved.
7/15/2021
Next week, the full House of Representatives is expected to vote on HR2668, critical legislation to restore Federal Trade Commission authority to disgorge ill-gotten gains from corporate wrongdoers to use to compensate victims of the crime. This spring, the Supreme Court had held that the power was not clearly defined in law, even though courts had upheld the authority for many years, allowing the FTC to return billions of dollars to consumers.
-- Cover graphic of FTC Building via Flickr, by Boston Public Library, Some rights reserved.
7/15/2021
"No parent should ever have to endure the tragedy of losing a child."
7/15/2021
How the pandemic has worsened the medical debt crisis
7/13/2021
Wendy's, the third largest burger chain in the country, committed to prohibiting the routine use of medically important antibotics in its meat supply chains by the end of 2030.
7/9/2021
How drug companies keep prices high through tricky marketing and sales tactics