Editor, Gazette-Journal:

What will Congress and our Representative Rob Wittman do with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new rule which curtails the scope of arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts?

Under the rule, while arbitration clauses would still be permissible in consumer financial product contracts, they would “have to say explicitly that they cannot be used to stop consumers from being part of a class action in court.” 

So what are the problems with arbitration clauses anyway? Why the hubbub?

Fair Arbitration Now says, “Most Americans don’t know that they are bound by forced arbitration. Buried in the fine print of employment, cell phone, credit card, retirement account, home building, and nursing home contracts are mandatory arbitration clauses. Just by taking a job or buying a product or service, individuals are forced to give up their right to go to court if they are harmed by a company. Because the private system ...