Good afternoon. I want to thank Secretary Bessent and the staff of the Treasury Department for convening this meeting, and for their leadership on digital financial literacy.
Under the superb leadership of Acting Director Vought, the CFPB is advancing the Trump Administration’s expansive efforts to improve financial literacy and increase early access to financial empowerment opportunities. These efforts will help American families and strengthen the overall economy.
Unlike the Biden administration’s former CFPB Director, Rohit Chopra, this administration does not view financial education as “harmful.” Although difficult to believe, that’s how Chopra described financial education before this very body in 2022. Chopra lectured this Commission, devoted to Financial Education, that such education can make “individuals worse off.”
Chopra even claimed that financial education gives consumers “a deep sense of shame, reducing engagement, and creating reluctance to find a path to a more stable financial situation.”
While Chopra claimed that there is some worthwhile financial education out there, it was only going to be provided on Chopra’s own terms, and limited ones at that, as our citizens are not to be trusted to get financially literate on their own. Rather, they must listen only to us.
Chopra’s whole focus was on scaring consumers to only listen to what Big Government said is trustworthy, and his approach to financial literacy was yet another manifestation of the Biden administration’s view of our countrymen – just as with Covid, one should not have been doing any independent research or thinking.
We have seen this playbook before, much like the disreputable Anthony Fauci telling Americans that they are too ill-informed and dumb to do their own research and make their own informed choices during COVID.
Instead of educating and empowering consumers to make their own informed financial decisions, Director Chopra devoted the CFPB’s resources only after consumers suffered financial harm. What does that mean? He did not invest in financial education nor allowed his staff to do meaningful work educating consumers – and staff confirmed to me that Director Chopra had little interest in doing that. Instead, he hired 100 new enforcement attorneys to harass and destroy businesses that served consumers.
I suppose enforcement actions demanding extortionate penalties garner more headlines than consumers making informed and educated choices in their daily lives that align with their families’ needs and values and that help consumers avoid being exploited by predatory businesses.
Needless to say, an argument that consumer education is harmful is disgraceful and anti-American. It only shows contempt for hard-working Americans, who struggled with affordability due to misguided policies implemented during the Biden-Chopra era.
Nor is Chopra’s view supported by our statutory mandate to educate and empower consumers. I urge you to read former Director Chopra’s shameful remarks in their entirety as this is Marxism at work that President Trump has been battling.
Today, the Vought-led CFPB works to be a source of unbiased, objective information consumers can trust. Our financial education products have been accessed over 11 million times, and we are exploring additional data-driven approaches for the application of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to optimize access and delivery of CFPB educational resources.
The CFPB is continuing to develop targeted educational materials about fraud and scams and other topics that are important to Americans. We are working to reach critical groups such as servicemembers, veterans, older Americans, and young adults, who would benefit the most by increased access to financial literacy resources.
Our Financial Literacy Report published in May of this year, which is available to the public on our website , explains the many initiatives we have undertaken in these areas.
Our research has found that people are more likely to absorb and use information if it is connected to a decision that matters to them, at the time they can put it to use.
President Trump’s superb leadership in restoring the American Dream is exemplified by his recent launch of Trump Accounts, which will help young Americans grow wealth and are a wonderful opportunity to promote financial literacy.
Trump Accounts provide an opportunity for kids to learn about investing and watch their money grow over time. To support teachers, parents, and communities, CFPB has begun to develop resources related to Trump Accounts to teach how investing early is a wise strategy for reaching financial goals, to build children’s financial skills, and to bolster the long-term success of Trump Accounts.
CFPB is committed to helping our administration promote financial education literacy and identify opportunities for all Americans so they can have access to accurate and unbiased information. We believe in American consumers to educate themselves and to be empowered to make the right choices for their families. This is the American spirit! This is President Trump’s America!
It is an honor to work for President Trump, who has done more than any other President to restore the American Dream and to bring financial opportunities to Americans. And it is a pleasure to work alongside Acting Director Vought and Secretary Bessent, and our colleagues across the administration who are here today to help implement President Trump’s America First agenda.
Thank you.
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