The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on Friday the creation of a task force aimed at harmonizing and modernizing federal consumer laws.
According to the CFPB, it is the first time in more than 50 years that someone has taken a step back and looked at how federal consumer protection laws, such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to name one, interact with one another and where gaps in coverage may exist. The CFPB also has enforcement authority over the Truth in Lending Act, the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, the Consumer Leasing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Credit Repair Organizations Act, and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.
“An objective and independent evaluation of our current regulatory framework to identify where there may be gaps or where regulation should be simplified or modernized is needed to help us more effectively carry out our mission of protecting consumers,” said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathleen L. Kraninger, in a statement. “As we work to set up the taskforce, we encourage interested individuals to apply to be considered to be part of the taskforce.”
Rather than announce members of the task force, the CFPB is accepting invitations from individuals who are interested in participating. Applications for the task force can be accessed by clicking here. A published report indicated that the CFPB is looking for up to seven individuals to participate in the task force.