Press Release
AAJ Response to House Voting to Pass a Bill That Puts Wall Street Before Consumers
June 08,2017
Washington, DC—The following is a statement from American Association for Justice (AAJ) CEO Linda Lipsen in response to the U.S. House of Representatives today passing “The Financial CHOICE Act” (H.R. 10), which would gut consumer protections enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis:
“Today, the House voted to sacrifice the rights and financial stability of Americans in favor of corporate handouts to the very banks that drove our country into the worst financial crisis in a generation. This disastrous bill threatens the financial well-being of consumers, investors, and U.S. capital markets and throws them into the crosshairs of corporations.”
“The Financial CHOICE Act destroys consumer protections established to help Americans fend off the abuses and fraud that triggered the 2008 financial crisis. If this bill becomes law, it would derail the CFPB’s widely-supported proposal to empower consumers by restricting forced arbitration in financial agreements. By sidelining the Bureau’s efforts to protect the rights of Americans, Congress is all but condoning the actions of corporations that cheat their customers and push them into a rigged forced arbitration system where consumers lose and corporations win.”
