A new poll shows that, across the political spectrum, likely midterm voters approve of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, with four in five expressing support. In addition, voters oppose President Trump’s and Congress’s attempts to eliminate this consumer watchdog agency.
The poll was conducted for the Center for Responsible Lending, or CRL, and Americans for Financial Reform.
Voters also support restoring CFPB protections – for overdraft fees, credit card late fees, privacy, and payment apps – that were canceled during the current Trump Administration.
“Americans of all political stripes, by overwhelming margins, support this consumer watchdog,” Mike Calhoun, president of CRL, said in a statement. “The Administration’s and Congress’s actions to shutter the agency fly in the face of what voters want.”
Calhoun said the CFPB’s mission – making sure financial firms treat people fairly – is especially important as so many people struggle to afford housing and other essentials.
“Congress should pass the Protecting American Consumers Act to automatically and fully fund the CFPB’s work,” he said.
Among other findings of the poll:
- More than nine in ten voters believe it is important to regulate financial services to make sure they’re fair for consumers.
- After hearing a short description of the CFPB and its mission, four in five voters express support for the CFPB, including 77 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of independents.
- There’s wide support across parties and among independents for a number of CFPB protections that were canceled or overturned by the Trump administration or Congress:
- More than four in five voters support capping credit card late fees at $8 and overdraft fees at $5, 82 percent each, including over three quarters of Republican voters for each policy.
- More than four in five voters support regulating payment apps, such as Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App, to stop bad practices that harm people, 81 percent, including 80 percent of Republicans.
- Voters are near-unanimous in their support of stopping financial companies from selling consumers’ personal data, 90 percent, with a high degree of consistency across party lines.
