Senior Director, Federal Consumer Program
6/29/2020
On Monday, the U.S. House approved H.R. 5332, the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2020 (Gottheimer-NJ). U.S. PIRG joined other leading advocates of credit reporting reform in a support letter to the House last week. The bill takes a number of steps to make it easier to fix credit reporting errors.
6/18/2020
Multnomah County was given approval to proceed to Phase I even though it is still failing several of Governor Brown’s requirements - a decision that is not supported by the data. However, mandatory face covering has been clearly demonstrated to reduce the spread of COVID-19 - a fact that may allow for a more rapid reopening.
6/10/2020
4 weeks after Oregon counties began to reopen, confirmed COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are rising. The state must deny Multnomah County “Phase I” status until cases begin to fall again, and should delay any further “Phase II” approvals until ongoing outbreaks are contained.
6/10/2020
4 weeks after Oregon counties began to reopen, confirmed COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are rising. The state must deny Multnomah County “Phase I” status until cases begin to fall again, and should delay any further “Phase II” approvals until ongoing outbreaks are contained.
6/10/2020
As of today, consumer complaints to the CFPB set a third straight monthly record in May, with 35,093 complaints reported. Complaints about credit reporting lead by far, followed by debt collection, credit card and mortgage complaints. Job and income losses during the pandemic are hitting families hard.
6/8/2020
Public health experts are starting to draw actionable lessons about the nature of how COVID-19 spreads. In addition to maintaining best practices –physical distancing, mask wearing and hand washing – it’s best to avoid extended, crowded indoor gatherings.
5/31/2020
I’ve been reading the CFPB’s mail. It’s okay, you can too. It’s public. Not surprisingly, the latest CFPB consumer complaints paint a grim picture of the pandemic’s effect on family finances. I ask: Why isn’t the CFPB doing more to help struggling consumers?
5/29/2020
Mortgage servicers failed Americans during the last recession. And if early data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is any indication, history may well be on its way to repeating.
5/22/2020
Most airlines are only offering vouchers, not refunds, when passengers cancel their flights due to concerns about COVID-19.
5/21/2020
Oregon has a solid plan to reopen, but the State must stick with it to both loosen restrictions and keep Oregonians safe. Improved transparency and more consistent application of the reopening benchmarks is needed to do so.