Consumer Protection
Championing Consumer Rights
Senator Reed is dedicated to protecting consumers and ensuring they have the information they need to make informed choices.
A senior member of the Banking Committee, Reed authored several key pieces of the historic Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to bring transparency and accountability to Wall Street. Most notably, Reed championed a provision to establish the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will prevent deceptive practices and provide consumers with the information they need to make informed choices when shopping for mortgages, credit cards, and other financial products.
Reed has fought to ban unfair credit card practices and authored legislation to improve consumer disclosures on mortgages and provide stronger protections and better alternatives for families facing foreclosure.
Read More »In recognition of his dedication to protecting U.S. consumers, the pro-consumer advocacy Consumer Federation of America (CFA) honored Senator Reed with its Philip Hart Public Service Award for championing issues that better the lives of working Americans.
Key Priorities & Accomplishments
- Reed helped pass the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which President Obama signed into law, establishing fair and sensible rules for how and when credit card companies can raise interest rates.
- Successfully pressured the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen labeling and testing standards for sunscreen products.
- Cosponsored legislation to crack down on gas and oil market manipulation and pushed for federal task forces to ferret out unscrupulous and excessive speculative conduct in the energy commodity markets.
- Authored a provision in the Affordable Care Act that will require prescription drug promotional advertisements and labeling to contain easy to understand “fact boxes” that will give patients and doctors credible, accessible information about how well drugs work and their potential side effects.
The Latest
-
Senate Seeks to Toughen a Bill Aimed at Start-Ups
WASHINGTON - A decade after the dot-com bubble popped and Enron became synonymous with spectacular fraud, Congress is on the verge of scrapping numerous safeguards against investment fraud and allowing some small companies to sell stock to the public with minimal disclosure or oversight. The bill, which...
Posted on 3/20/2012 | -
Reed Opposes Eliminating Rules to Protect Investors from Fraud
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today spoke on the Senate floor opposing H.R. 3606, the so-called Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which would roll back critical accounting standards and investor protections on both small and giant companies that want to start selling st...
Posted on 3/19/2012 |Regulations, Small Businesses, senate floor, Venture Capital, Investors, Securities, Investor Protection, Transparency, Consumers, Small business, Job Growth, Securities and Exchange Commission, Debt, Regulation, Workers, Banks, Internet, SEC, Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, Consumer Protection, Regulations, Small Businesses, senate floor, Venture Capital, Investors, Securities, Investor Protection, Transparency, Consumers, Small business -
Reed and Durbin Support CFPB Inquiry into Overdraft Fees
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) today released the following statements after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it is launching an inquiry into checking account overdraft programs to determine how these practices are impacting...
Posted on 2/22/2012 | -
Reed Hails New Rules to Protect Airline Passengers from Hidden Fees
PROVIDENCE, RI - U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) wants airline passengers to wave good bye to asterisks, fine print, and sticker shock. Reed has called for stronger regulations to protect consumers from hidden fees and taxes, and starting this week, new federal rules will require air...
Posted on 1/24/2012 | -
Reed Supports Cordray as New Director of Consumer Watchdog
Today, after President Barack Obama announced his intention to use his executive power to name former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Banking Com...
Posted on 1/4/2012 | -
Reed Statement on Nomination of Richard Berner to Lead New Office of Financial Research
- Today, after the White House announced the nomination of Richard Berner to become the first director of the Office of Financial Research (OFR), U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Banking Committee who wrote the law creating the OFR, issued the following state...
Posted on 12/16/2011 | -
Reed, Durbin Applaud Chase’s Decision to Accept Their Challenge to Adopt Fee Disclosure Form
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) released the following statement today after Chase, the nation’s largest bank, announced it will voluntarily adopt a disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy for consum...
Posted on 12/15/2011 |
