Consumer advocacy groups are putting the word out to support HR 4173, which would create a financial watchdog to keep an eye on banks and other financial institutions in the name of consumers.  The bill will be voted on sometime this week.  The following is an appeal from Consumer Reports that includes a link to the Washington Consumer Union who is tracking support for the bill.  As always, please take the time to learn a little about the bill before taking action.

The giant banks and mortgage lenders tanked our economy with risky credit products and high-cost consumer debt. The real estate market still hasn’t recovered, and unemployment is at record highs. Now, millions of Americans are struggling to pay off their credit cards this holiday season after the banks hit good customers with even higher interest rates.

Our regulatory agencies have done very little for us in all this. They are more concerned about keeping banks and lenders afloat than cracking down on financial schemes that hurt us. We need a different approach.

A bill will be voted on this week in the House of Representatives to put a new cop on the consumer beat — a tough financial watchdog whose only job is to look out for you, not the banks.

This new sheriff on Wall Street would put your interests first and stop financial rip-offs by banks, lenders and others before they suck money from your wallet and further tank our economy. But the banks are pulling out the stops to kill this bill.

I just called my Representative’s office in Washington using Consumers Union’s toll-free hotline. Will you take a minute to join me in urging your member of Congress to vote YES on the bill?

Just go to https://secure.consumersunion.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=DYD_Patchthrucall_092809&autologin=true

It’s easy and there are some simple talking points on the page. We can take on the banks if we all speak out together!