February 19, 2025

Republicans introduced legislation to eradicate a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that protects consumers from predatory overdraft fees, and this makes banks happy, but not the public. Pete Buttigieg brought this up on social media, and it's true, according to the press release.

"House Financial Service Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn the Biden Administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final rule capping overdraft fees at banks and credit unions," the release states. "The committee leaders cited the rule’s impact on access to important financial services and reiterated that lawful and contractually agreed upon payment incentives promote financial discipline and responsibility."

Look at all those Rs:

"Chairman Hill was joined on the resolution by Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Andy Barr (R-KY), Roger Williams (R-TX), William Timmons (R-SC), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Troy Downing (R-MT), Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), Tim Moore (R-NC), and Glenn Grothman (R-WI). Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jim Risch (R-ID), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Boozman (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) co-sponsored Chairman Scott's resolution," it states.

The American Prospect reports:

The rule under challenge places a $5 cap on the overdraft fees that banks can charge their customers, a major decrease from the typical $35 fee. In the rulemaking process, the CFPB found that some banks scheme and scam to maximize overdraft fees, setting new rules without notifying customers or even engineering the order of transactions to generate more fees. Capping these fees will rein banks in, and according to the CFPB’s calculations, save Americans $5 billion a year.
...
When justifying overturning rules that regulate big-bank greed, Republicans and lobbyists say that they’re merely trying to protect consumer choice. Rep. Hill, announcing the resolution of disapproval, said that the CFPB rule “[hurts] consumers who deserve financial protections and greater choice.” What they call “choice” is actually taking money away from consumers and giving it over to the banks, and it represents the dubious position that banks simply have to rip off their customers or they cannot survive.

Well, they have to keep the banksters happy. They're fucking over their constituents, and that includes MAGA. If you've ever gotten an overdraft fee, you know how it can spiral out of control. I'm pretty sure that Donald will sign this piece of legislation. Tim Scott's leading funding donor is Goldman Sachs.

I am not making this up: Republicans have introduced legislation… to increase your bank fees.

Pete Buttigieg (@petebuttigieg.bsky.social) 2025-02-18T15:01:18.535Z

Seriously, they are doing this. And it sounds like the Trump administration supports it.

Pete Buttigieg (@petebuttigieg.bsky.social) 2025-02-18T15:01:18.536Z

Can you help us out?

For over 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but social media is limiting our ability to attract new readers. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon