Protect your finances

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has already returned almost $11 billion to more than 26 million consumers cheated by Wall Street and other financial companies. Another 41,614 Floridians who have been wronged have filed complaints so far at www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Therefore, it’s disappointing that members of Congress from Florida are leading the effort to keep the CFPB from doing its job. In particular, Sen. Marco Rubio co-sponsored a bill that would strip the CFPB of its independent funding from the Federal Reserve and leave it up to Congress. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who is a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, voted a spending bill out of committee that would do the same thing.

How much money would Congress, which received nearly half a billion dollars in contributions from the financial sector for the 2013-2014 campaign cycle, decide to budget for this watchdog?

If more Floridians contact our members of Congress in support of the CFPB, we can make sure financial companies are kept in check and the voices of consumers don’t get drowned out.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Protect your finances."