Washington, DC– In response to the Senate’s decision to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule limiting mandatory arbitration, John Taylor, President and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, made the following statement:
“The scoreboard is banks 1, little guy 0.
Citizens just lost an invaluable protection from the ‘fine print’ that strips their right to go to court when cheated or taken advantage of by corporations. Forced arbitration clauses routinely hide massive wrongdoing, from widespread cover ups in the financial sector to sexual harassment cases in the workplace.
Voters must understand that, almost unanimously, Republicans in the US Senate voted against the people and decided instead to help their bank friends. In the face of corporation abuses, it will now be much harder for you or I to get redress.
The CFPB, the only agency charged with protecting people from big corporate interests, acted last july to ensure that consumers were protected. Now, you are going to take away this protection, this right to a day in court? The Senate has shown their true colors.
Kudos to Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) who broke with their party and still stand up for the individuals who voted them into office.”
