CFA Warns: July 4th Is the Most Dangerous Day for Adults and Children on OHVs On the eve of the July 4th holiday, CFA issued an alert to off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders to operate their vehicles with caution and not to allow children 16 or younger to operate the vehicles. The annual release was tied … Continued

Bipartisan Bill To Stop Bad Robocalls Advances in the House The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee gave voice vote approval earlier this week to legislation (H.R. 3375, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act) designed to “end the robocalls epidemic.” In advance of the vote, CFA and other privacy organizations sent a letter in support of legislation … Continued

SEC Votes to Adopt Anti-Investor Advice Standards The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-1 last week to adopt a package of rules and regulatory interpretations that will make it easier for broker-dealers and investment advisers to mislead investors into expecting “best interest” advice without requiring them to actually recommend the investments that are best … Continued

Consumer Groups Support H.R. 946, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act CFA joined with the National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Action, and the National Association of Consumer Advocates in urging Congress to act swiftly to enact H.R. 946, the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, in testimony presented on behalf of the groups by NCLC Senior Counsel Margot … Continued

Advocates Head to the Hill for Stronger Consumer Financial Protections Over 120 consumer advocates from 29 states headed to Capitol Hill last week as part of the third annual Consumer Lobby Day to meet with their members of Congress and urge them to support strong consumer financial protections for all Americans. The effort focused on … Continued

Lawsuit Challenges FCC’s Misallocation of Telecom Costs CFA Research Director Mark Cooper joined a lawsuit earlier this month challenging the recent decision of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend for another six years allocation of costs between federal and state jurisdictions, originally adopted in 2000, that has allowed billions of dollars in illegal costs … Continued

Without Fixes SEC Advice Standard Will Harm Investors, CFA Warns Unless the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) adopts extensive changes to its proposed “best interest” standard for broker-dealers, Regulation Best Interest will end up depriving investors of protections they currently receive and misleading them into expecting protections the rule does not deliver, CFA Director of Investor … Continued

CFA Joins in Lawsuit Against Fuel Economy Standards Roll-Back In response to the Trump Administration’s effort to roll back reasonable fuel economy standards, CFA filed an amicus brief with the D.C. Circuit last month in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s  (EPA) action to withdraw the Final Determination on the mid-term review of the … Continued

CFPB Moves to Protect Predatory Payday Lenders With new leadership in place, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) moved quickly last month to repeal payday loan rules that are designed to protect consumers from triple-digit interest loan traps. “While not perfect, the CFPB’s final payday lending rule was a giant step toward helping struggling families … Continued

Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards Will Ravage Low-Income Consumer Budgets As the Trump Administration continues to consider a rollback of federal fuel economy standards, CFA released an analysis last month showing that a rollback would hurt low-income consumers the most, forcing them to pay more for gas and leaving less for family and household essentials. … Continued