News

Obama defends CFPB from Republican attacks

by Jesse Byrnes - 03/28/15 9:56 AM ET

President Obama touted new rules rolled out this week from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) targeting payday lending, defending the agency from GOP attacks.

“The idea is pretty common sense: If you’re a payday lender preparing to give a loan, you should make sure that the borrower can afford to pay it back first,” Obama said in his address released Saturday.

{mosads}”As Americans, we believe there’s nothing wrong with making a profit. But there is something wrong with making that profit by trapping hard-working men and women in a vicious cycle of debt,” he said.

The new rules, unveiled Thursday, would make sure borrowers can repay loans, limit their credit to 45 days or fewer and establish a 60-day waiting period for those who have taken out three consecutive loans.

Obama touted the new rules in a speech in Birmingham, Ala., this week, and reiterated his support for the agency in his weekly address by linking it to budgets rolled out by Republicans recently.

“Protecting working Americans’ paychecks shouldn’t be a partisan issue. But the budget Republicans unveiled last week would make it harder, not easier, to crack down on financial fraud and abuse,” Obama said.

“And this week, when Republicans rolled out their next economic idea, it had nothing to do with the middle class,” Obama said, arguing the GOP budget offered $250 billion in new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Democrats have accused Republicans of using the budget process to undermine financial regulators by subjecting their budget to congressional appropriation. The CFPB is currently funded through the Federal Reserve.

Republicans have contended that the agency should get a budget set by lawmakers for accountability.

Tags Barack Obama CFPB Payday loan Personal finance