Table of Contents

Support Elizabeth Warren for consumer watchdog job
Consumer, civil and human rights organizations wrote to President Obama on Aug. 9 to urge him to nominate Elizabeth Warren to serve as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

SEC’s proposed rule would expose personal financial information of homeowners
Consumer Action signed onto comments made to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its Proposed Rulemaking on Asset-Backed Securities, a rule which would mandate an unprecedented release of individual-level financial data and would greatly increase borrowers’ risk for identity theft.

Congress should investigate Microsoft’s decision to undermine consumer privacy
Consumer Action joined in a letter to the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Rep. Henry Waxman and a Ranking Member of the committee, Rep. Joe Barton, requesting that they formally open an investigation into the decision-making process that led to a severe weakening of privacy protections in Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Congress should enact auto safety bill without weakening amendments
Consumer groups, including Consumer Action, sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Henry Waxman, urging them to reject auto industry resistance to pay an auto safety user fee and pass H.R. 5381.

Senate must act to give states extensions on federal Medicaid match
A coalition of organizations, including Consumer Action, urged Congress to pass a jobs bill that includes a six month extension of the increased federal Medicaid match (FMAP) contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Adopt EU measures to protect consumers from cell phone “bill shock”
Consumer Action and National Consumers League submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on the issue of "bill shock," or the phenomenon of consumers receiving enormous, multi-thousand dollar bill from their cell carriers.

Privacy legislation must be grounded in Fair Information Practices
Consumer Action signed onto testimony presented by U.S. Public Interest Research Group's Consumer Program Director at a legislative hearing examining draft legislation aimed at regulating the collection and disclosure of personal information online.

Data collection provisions in health law ensure equal access and care
In a letter to Congress, Consumer Action and other consumer organizations voiced strong support for a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that mandates collection of data on race, ethnicity, sex, primary language, and disability status in order to ensure disparities in health care access and quality for vulnerable populations.

Students need protection from schools that don’t deliver “gainful employment”
Consumer Action signed onto a letter asking the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag to issue a clear definition of the "gainful employment" provision in student loan regulations in order to ensure students, and taxpayers, are getting what they pay for from colleges and universities.

Regulatory role of Labor Department should frame debate on retirement plans
Fund Democracy, Consumer Federation of America,and Consumer Action wrote a letter responding to a call for information on the Department of Labor's proposed changes to 401(k) retirement plans.