Above: Gottheimer questions CFPB Director Rohit Chopra on financial issues impacting women.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Thursday, June 13, 2024, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) questioned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, during a House Financial Services Committee Hearing, on a range of financial issues impacting women, including Crisis Pregnancy Centers and “coerced debt” facing survivors of domestic violence.

Gottheimer’s questions for Chopra:

• “CPCs offer a masterclass in deceptive, anti-choice marketing. They mislead women and attempt to block their access to reproductive healthcare. That’s why watchdog groups have called on our federal government to investigate these centers for deceptive marketing. Director Chopra, you understand consumer fairness perhaps better than anyone else in this room. Will you commit to using CFPB resources to look into this issue and protect consumers who come into contact with these centers?”
  • Read Gottheimer’s recent op-ed on his work combatting CPC’s deceptive marketing practices here.
  • Video of Gottheimer’s question to Chopra can be found here.
• “Director Chopra – I’d like to shift gears and talk about ‘coerced’ debt, which occurs when the abuser in a violent relationship obtains credit in a survivor’s name through threat, force, or fraud. Right now, a cardholder can’t be removed from a joint credit card account unless both parties agree to terminate the account. Has the CFPB looked into solutions that help survivors take their name off joint accounts without penalties?”
  • Director Chopra expressed interest in further working with Gottheimer to address coerced debt issues. 
  • Video of Gottheimer’s question to Chopra can be found here.
• “According to the FBI’s 2023 Elder Fraud Report, seniors had more than $3.4 billion stolen from senior scams last year. What is the CFPB doing to crack down on this staggering fraud?”
  • Director Chopra shared that this is an issue of serious concern and that he is looking for new ways to partner with industry to stop sophisticated scammers who use artificial intelligence to mimic relatives voices’ and defraud seniors. 
  • Gottheimer is working to pass his bipartisan Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act, which will help states crack down on the more than $3.4 billion stolen in senior scams last year.
  • Video of Gottheimer’s question to Chopra can be found here.

Gottheimer opened his questioning by highlighting his successful advocacy against the Congestion Tax, a topic that he questioned Director Chopra about last year. 

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