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Experts tell Oregon panel federal consumer-watchdogs are retreating; urge law changes and resource boosts
Summary
A former FTC official and state regulators told the House Commerce Committee that recent federal rollbacks at the CFPB and FTC risk leaving consumers unprotected. Witnesses urged states to strengthen statutes, boost enforcement resources and adopt investigative tools such as crypto-tracking software.
A panel of consumer-protection experts told the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on Sept. 30 that recent changes at federal agencies have reduced national enforcement capacity and increased the need for state action.
Sam Levine, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley and former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, warned that "the Trump administration is dismantling key financial protections and gutting the agencies charged with safeguarding the public." Levine cited multi-billion-dollar recoveries by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over time and said recent decisions have voided or reduced enforcement outcomes, leaving hundreds of millions in consumer relief at risk.
Levine urged Oregon lawmakers to strengthen consumer-protection statutes, including closing gaps in the state's Unlawful Trade Practices Act. "States have stepped up in the past," he said, and now "with the CFPB really stepping back, it is more important than ever that state enforcers use the tools that they do have to protect Oregonians."
Nicole Frew of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) outlined CFPB functions — rulemaking, supervision and enforcement — and said recent federal rollbacks include paused rulemakings and reductions in supervisory exams and enforcement activity. Frew noted the CFPB's published rulemaking agenda includes 24 items for the coming months and that reductions in staff and enforcement activity have already produced a measurable decline in penalties and actions.
Jesse O'Brien, policy manager at DCBS's Division of Financial Regulation, said the state has jurisdictional hooks to enforce many federal consumer-protection standards and is expanding technical tools within current resources, including software to better track cryptocurrency transactions linked to scams. Lawmakers asked whether the state may need to pass laws to 'backfill' rescinded federal protections; DCBS said it is monitoring federal actions and could recommend state-level analogs if federal rules disappear.
The committee did not vote on legislation. Members asked DCBS and DOJ to provide further data on case counts, referrals and the litigation recoveries cited during testimony.
