Washington D.C. (Sept. 25, 2019) – An unprecedented appearance by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Kathy Kraninger highlighted Tuesday’s regulatory briefings at NIADA’s National Policy Conference.

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s annual trip to Washington D.C., which opened with record attendance Monday, continues today with the Day on Capitol Hill, when more than 200 independent auto dealers and industry partners will meet with members of Congress to advocate for the used vehicle industry and small business.

Kraninger was joined on Tuesday’s agenda by deputy assistant to the President and deputy director of the National Economic Council Andrew Olmem and keynote speaker Lt. Col. Oliver North.

In her “fireside chat” with NIADA senior vice president Shaun Petersen, Kraninger discussed a wide array of topics, including changes to the CFPB’s consumer complaint database and an upcoming rule for third-party debt collectors.

She said while the CFPB will keep its controversial consumer complaint database available to the public, there will be changes to address the concerns of the business community, including a new landing page that includes information providing perspective to the complaints in the database.

“We’ve done a lot of outreach and had other conversations about how we can make this better,” she said. “I believe fundamentallythat things that are made public – I can’t pull that back. I don’t think that’s consistent with transparency or the waythe government should operate. But putting that information in context is helpful.

”In his session, Olmem provided insight and answered questions about the Trump Administration’s approach to economic policy, touching on topics such as jobs, over-regulation and tariffs.

North – a combat-decorated Marine who served as counter-terrorism coordinator for the National Security Council, as well as a best-selling author, founder of a small business, holder of three U.S. patents and author of a syndicated column – gave the audience of small business entrepreneurs lessons on leadership, illustrated with stories from his career as a Marine and as host of Fox News Channel’s War Stories.

Tuesday’s regulatory sessions also included an update from the Federal Trade Commission’s Nikhil Singhvi, while Kil-Jae Hong of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Tom Musick of the National Safety Council discussed new ways of addressing vehicle recalls. In addition, Andrew Aragon of Quorum offered ideas about how dealers can increase their political engagement in today’s digital world.

About NIADA

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA) is among the nation's largest trade associations, representing the used motor vehicle industry comprised of more than 38,000 licensed used car dealers. Since 1946, NIADA has represented the voice and interests of used car dealers at the federal level in Washington D.C. Coupled with its state association network across the country, NIADA’s grass-roots framework provides a dual layer of advocacy unmatched in the used motor vehicle industry.

For more than 70 years, NIADA has engineered programs and leveraged technology to fulfill its mission to advance, educate and promote the independent used car dealer. NIADA members subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics of duty, honor and integrity, and believe in the advancement of small business in support of the free-market system. More information about NIADA programs and educational opportunities is available at www.niada.com and www.niada.tv