Consumer Federation of America

Hear Susan Weinstock discuss how CFA is working to lower costs for all American at our event last week with the Urban Institute and National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard

https://youtu.be/293FKIYtVIA?si=790cwTlG-3Xa3G8j

Secretary Yellen, on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration, is joining the chorus of leaders and groups that have called for reforming the System. She urged them to increase their annual commitment to Affordable Housing Programs to 20 percent, with a particular focus on moving the needle on housing supply.

CFA urges the FHLBanks – a government-sponsored enterprise founded to support our housing finance system – to heed this call, as more and more find themselves priced out of today’s housing market.

Currently the Federal Housing Finance Agency has two RFIs out, calling for the public to provide their input on how Federal Home Loan Banks can better fulfill their housing and community missions. We hope that a wide range of housing and consumer groups will offer their feedback at the links below:

https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/fhfa-requests-input-on-application-process-for-the-federal-home-loan-bank-affordable-housing-program

https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/fhfa-requests-input-on-fhlbank-system-mission

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2424

This , as we celebrate freedom and reflect on the progress made, we also recognize the ongoing struggle for equity in all facets of life. At CFA, we strive to ensure that all , regardless of background, have access to safe, fair, and transparent markets.

Join us and the Urban Institute for a conversation with Dr. Lael Brainard, White House National Economic Advisor, about the administration’s efforts to lower costs for all Americans in housing, food, finance, and more.

Thursday, June 20, 2024
10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. EDT

Urban Institute
500 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington , DC

Register Here:
https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4626858/08C1A17F8CFFF5DACDF52E9DC5C800D2

The war over seat sizes continues: “Sizes are increasingly shrinking,” Erin Witte said. “We’re cramming more people onto smaller airplanes.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/12/takeaways-politico-state-of-the-airline-industry-event-00163054

Mr. DeLong also objects to consumers’ being “unknowingly or unwillingly enrolled in these programs. Most consumers are put off by the idea of an company riding shotgun.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/09/technology/driver-scores-insurance-data-apps.html?partner=calculated

CFA's 58th Annual Consumer Assembly starts TOMORROW!
We look forward to seeing you there.

Did your or go awry? You're not alone! Our latest report highlights the top 10 consumer complaints of 2023. Find out what else made the list and how agencies returned $330M to consumers!

https://consumerfed.org/press_release/top-ten-consumer-complaints-for-2023/

People "are tired of feeling like buying a ticket is like going to war, and there is still work to be done to make more competitive, but this is a great step forward," said Erin Witte, Director of Consumer Protection at CFA

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-deeply-divided-congress-finds-common-ground-concert-ticket-pricing-stinks-5f5eccf3

“The Beverages and Cancer Act represents an important milestone,” said Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy at Consumer Federation of America. “ caused by alcohol kill tens of thousands of Americans each year."

https://alaska-native-news.com/law-requiring-warning-that-alcohol-causes-breast-and-colon-cancers-passes-the-alaska-state-legislature/74093/

ANNOUNCEMENT 🔊: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto will deliver the opening keynote address at CFA's 58th Annual Consumer Assembly!

Join Us, in-person at the Capital Hilton on
Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6

Register Here: https://consumerfed.org/events/consumer-assembly/

"For a consumer at the outset, it's hard to compare because these values and the points that are assigned, it's not clear how they translate to dollars." -Erin Witte

https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/frustrated-with-your-credit-card-rewards-redemptions-so-is-the-cfpb

Join us for the 58th Annual Consumer Assembly! Sessions include, building a better foundation for homeowners of , navigating online, homeowners and fair housing, ’s impact across consumer products and services, and so much more.

“We've seen a huge increase in services being used by businesses, sometimes in ways that consumers don't even necessarily meaningfully consent to,” says Erin Witte

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/subscriptions-are-hard-to-cancel-and-easy-to-forget-by-design

Together with Americans for Financial Reform Better Markets Climate and Community Project Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Revolving Door Project Consumer Action Public Citizen & many more, we are calling on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to be more transparent about its homeowners data call, agree to make the data available to the public, and begin collecting this and more data on a regular basis.

https://consumerfed.org/press_release/consumer-and-housing-advocates-call-for-public-access-to-homeowners-insurance-data-being-collected-by-nations-regulators-as-market-faces-crisis/

"There’s widespread use and systematic inconsistency in oversight." - Adam Rust

If companies want to act like banks, then the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is saying they should be willing to be supervised like banks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/01/tech-banks-government-regulation/

Join us for CFA's 58th Annual Consumer Assembly!
Learn about protecting the privacy of our , revising to rein in platforms, unraveling the broker fee debate, and so much more!

Register Here: https://consumerfed.org/events/consumer-assembly/

"This final determination sets an important precedent. USDA-FSIS has never before declared to be an adulterant in raw poultry products. In doing so, the agency has moved towards a more risk-based, enforceable regulatory standard." - Thomas Gremillion

CFA Statement on USDA Declaration of Salmonella as an Adulterant in Certain Raw Chicken Products · Consumer Federation of America Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced its final determination to declare raw breaded stuffed chicken products adulterated when found to harbor Salmonella in excess of one colony forming unit (CFU) per gram.

🎧Hear about reforms that could unlock $1B+ for w/ CFA's own Sharon Cornelissen, on the latest Bigger Pockets

Listen Here: https://link.chtbl.com/OwtN6xUc

The program for CFA's 58th annual Consumer Assembly is NOW available!

See who will be joining us:

https://consumerfed.org/events/consumer-assembly/

Because providers don’t consistently report to credit bureaus, there are concerns that users could be racking up they cannot afford to pay back. Banks and credit bureaus don’t have the full financial picture for those users, said Adam Rust

Klarna says its new card will help customers avoid credit-card debt — but the interest rate could be up to 34% in some cases The buy-now-pay-later provider says its new card isn’t a credit card, but that doesn’t mean it won’t charge interest.

Save the Dates for 2 of CFA's Biggest Events !!

CFA's 58th Annual Consumer Assembly
Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6.
Register Here: https://consumerfed.org/events/consumer-assembly/

CFA's 52nd Annual Awards Celebration
the evening of Thursday, June 6.
Register Here: https://consumerfed.org/events/awards-celebration/

Capital Hilton Hotel
1001 16th St NW

Join Us! CFA's 58th Annual Consumer Assembly will be held on Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6

Capital Hilton Hotel

1001 16th St NW

Register Here:

Consumer Assembly · Consumer Federation of America Consumer Assembly 2024 Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Consumers   Protecting the Privacy of our Servicemembers The military community is often a target for fraud and identity theft due to the fact that military families frequently relocate. These issues have a cascading effect, causing issues with ...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s new for are a significant victory for both consumers and the environment. The standards will save consumers money on their energy and water bills, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 9.4 million metric tons,” said Courtney Griffin, Director of Consumer Product Safety at Consumer Federation of America.

New Dishwasher Energy Efficiency Standards Benefit Consumers and Environment · Consumer Federation of America Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new dishwasher standards to increase energy efficiency and help consumers’ wallets.

“It absolutely helps [ companies’] bottom line,” said Adam Rust. “When a customer keeps a revolving balance, that’s a profit opportunity, and when the balance is high, that’s higher profit.”

You just got a higher credit limit. Does that mean you can spend more? Credit card limits can be much higher than what most of us can afford to spend. Here are the pros and cons of a higher limit.

Car rates are up more than 22% this year; why? Insurers responded with aggressive rate increases and stricter rules that have continued well after overall has come down.

Car Insurance Rates Soar Even Faster, Up More Than 22% In A Year; Why Is This Happening? Car insurance premiums have surged by 22.2% over the past year, according to March’s Consumer Price Index figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, far outpacing the current inflation rate of 3.5%. Over the same 12-month period, car repair costs increased 11.6%, with maintenance and repair cost...

No matter where you are financially, allows for a financial check-in to get you from where you are right now to where you want to be. How would you describe your current financial situation? Identify your money story with America Saves

Pledge | America Saves Nearly a quarter of savers who take the America Saves pledge chose “emergency savings” as their first wealth-building goal. And they have the right idea.

"When you feel like you’re the subject of price manipulation that you as the consumer don’t have any access to, and certainly can’t predict with any measure of certainty, it just feels very unfair.” - Erin Witte

Consumers Hate ‘Price Discrimination,’ but They Sure Love a Discount The Wendy’s debacle is a warning shot for brands: If you want to play with prices, make sure to communicate why and whom it could help.