Presidential Document2023-04838
National Consumer Protection Week, 2023
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 8, 2023
Signed
March 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 14249-14250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04838]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 8, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 14249]]
Proclamation 10529 of March 3, 2023
National Consumer Protection Week, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Families deserve to be protected from the fraudsters
and scammers who often prey on the most vulnerable
among us, draining real money from the pockets of hard-
working Americans. This National Consumer Protection
Week, we urge every American to learn about their legal
rights as consumers and the resources available to
defend those rights. Consumer protection is critical to
building a healthy economy from the bottom up and
middle out, and it is a question of basic fairness and
justice.
After a few tough years, America is in the midst of a
historic economic recovery--growth is up, wages are up,
and unemployment is at a 50-year low. Manufacturing is
booming, and more than 10 million Americans have
applied to start their own businesses--the most in any
2 years on record. As people finally start to feel like
they have a little bit of breathing room, we cannot let
fraud, cybercrimes, or unfair business practices
interrupt the progress we have made.
My Administration is taking historic action to make
sure that when American consumers enter the
marketplace, they get fair deals from honest brokers.
Shortly after I took office, I signed an Executive
Order to promote fair competition across our economy--
because when companies have to compete on a fair,
transparent playing field, it lowers prices for
consumers, raises wages for workers, and makes our
whole country more innovative and productive. The
Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) have undertaken efforts to address
anticompetitive conduct that hurts consumers and
workers, including preventing further consolidation in
the shipping and publishing industries and proposing a
ban on non-compete agreements. As I have long said:
Capitalism without competition is not capitalism; it is
exploitation.
As I said in my State of the Union Address, we are
cracking down on those unfair, hidden ``junk fees''
like bank overdraft charges, cell phone cancellation
fees, or surprise ticketing costs that sneak up on
consumers, hiding the full price of what they are
buying or making it much too hard to switch to a
cheaper product. For example, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) finalized rules that
would require cable and internet providers to list fees
and services up front, on clear, easy-to-read labels.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is
pressing banks and credit card companies to get rid of
surprise overdraft charges, bounced-check charges, and
unfair late fees. The CFPB has also proposed new rules
to cut excessive credit card late fees from roughly $30
to $8. The Department of Transportation helped convince
major airlines to rebook trips for free if they cancel
a flight and issued a notice encouraging airlines to
seat children next to an accompanying adult at no
additional cost. And the FTC has pushed electronics
makers to let consumers choose where to get their
products fixed, saving on repair costs. These things
matter--they add up fast, and when we act together,
American consumers will save billions of dollars every
year.
Meanwhile, the FTC is going after student loan scams,
mortgage scams, price gouging, and identity theft and
is working with law enforcement
[[Page 14250]]
to crack down on other predatory practices. The FCC is
working to stop today's scourge of illegal robocalls by
sharing call-blocking tools and working to reduce
spoofing by requiring phone companies to implement
caller ID authentication.
To protect online privacy, the FTC is considering new
rules that would limit how much personal data companies
can collect from consumers and sell to third parties.
The CFPB is also considering a rule to give consumers
more control over their personal financial data, which
in turn gives them more freedom over where they choose
to put their money.
Every American has the power to stand up for their own
consumer rights and to help protect their communities
and loved ones. We urge everyone to visit
<a href="http://consumer.ftc.gov">consumer.ftc.gov</a> to learn more about today's risks and
the resources available for fighting them and to report
any suspected fraud. To report issues with a consumer
financial product, like aggressive debt collection,
inaccurate credit reporting, or unfair medical billing,
visit <a href="http://consumerfinance.gov/complaint">consumerfinance.gov/complaint</a>.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 5, 2023,
through March 11, 2023, as National Consumer Protection
Week. I call upon government officials, industry
leaders, and advocates across the Nation to share
information about consumer protection and provide our
citizens with information about their rights as
consumers.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-04838
Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 8, 2023.
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