WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday it is seeking input on financial products and services, including auto loans, geared for service members and their families. Also, the nominee to lead the bureau recently made his opening address to the Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs.

Before learning more about what the former Ohio Attorney General and current Chief of Enforcement Officer for the new protection bureau revealed in his speech, SubPrime Auto Finance News first discovered comments on financial services for service members are due within 14 days of the bureau notice, which was released Sept. 7.

"Military families face unique challenges especially when it comes to their finances," explained Holly Petraeus, assistant director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs.

"We believe that an open dialogue is key to addressing these challenges. By identifying the products and services that aim to assist their particular needs, our office will be able to better service serve members and their families," she added.

In addition to other oversight, the new consumer bureau is charged with "educating and empowering service members and their families to make better informed decisions when choosing financial services and products."

Basically, the CFPB is asking consumers, financial service providers, organizations and other members of the public to provide information on consumer financial products and services geared for service members.

In addition to comments on products and services, the bureau is seeking input on education opportunities available for service members and their families; as well as the types of programs, policies, accommodations and benefits that financial service providers offer; homeowner assistance availability, as well as marketing and communication strategies that are the most and least effective.

Also, earlier this week, Richard Cordray, nominee for director of the new bureau, released his welcome speech to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, revealing a bit more into his personality.

"From childhood, my parents taught me the value of work that seeks to improve the lives of others. My Dad Frank, now 93, spent his entire career in programs that served children and adults who have developmental disabilities. My Mom Ruth, who died of cancer when I was in college, founded the first foster grandparent program for the developmentally disabled in Ohio, in addition to doing all the things that a mother does to raise three rambunctious boys," said Cordray.

He went on to explain that after spending some time as an attorney in the private sector, his life changed when he became the Franklin County Treasurer in Ohio.

"The job required me to develop managerial skills and the knowledge needed to run a financial office and safeguard public funds. But there was also another, very significant dimension of the county treasurer work. From the beginning, I set out to collect millions of dollars of unpaid property taxes. The people who evade their taxes take advantage of all the law-abiding taxpayers and businesses who meet their obligations. I thought that was wrong, and I tried to fix it by leveling the playing field," Cordray explained.

Deeply impressed by the importance of consumer finance issues, Cordray said, "Although I found that many delinquent taxpayers were not willing to pay their share until we moved aggressively to enforce the law against them, I also found something different and noteworthy: Many individuals did not want to be in trouble and wanted to pay their share, but were in tough circumstances through no fault of their own. Sometimes it was because of the loss of a job. Other times I would find that it was because of a death or serious illness in their family or because of a divorce that heaped on the added expense of running two households instead of just one.

"Out of these experiences, I developed a strong resolve to address these kinds of financial difficulties that confront our communities. I quickly learned that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution as we seek to aid those who want to do the right thing, and when necessary, to thwart those who seek to take advantage of others," he continued.

Among his accomplishments, he said his team successfully pushed for a new law requiring high school students to receive personal finance education before graduating.

"Before coming to the bureau as the chief of enforcement, I also served as the Ohio Attorney General. There, too, with a different set of tools, my main objectives in consumer protection were to help empower people to make sound financial decisions in managing their affairs. To protect seniors, we took on sweepstakes scams and other frauds targeting the elderly. We pursued many actions against foreclosure rescue scammers who were reaching into the pockets of desperate people in an effort to steal what little remained as they sought to keep their homes. And where necessary, we pursued those mortgage services who, despite strong warnings, repeatedly violated consumer protection laws," Cordray told the committee.

As Ohio Attorney General, he said his team had only two options when they saw something was wrong — do nothing or open an investigation that might lead to a lawsuit.

"We used that tool when it was necessary, though I deliberately instituted an early warning policy of notifying parties and giving them a chance to tell us their side of the story before we filed a lawsuit. On a number of occasions, this policy allowed us to resolve issues without going to court," he said.

"At the bureau, our bigger and more flexible toolbox includes research reports, rulemaking, market guidance, consumer education and empowerment, and the ability to supervise and examine both large banks and many nonbank institutions. I know from my own experience that lawsuits can be a very slow, wasteful and needlessly acrimonious way to resolve a problem. The supervisory tool, in particular, offers the prospect of resolving compliance issues more quickly and effectively without resorting to litigation. We are continuing to build our capacity to make effective use of this entire range of tools," he stressed.

"Enforcement, of course, will still have an important role at the consumer bureau. If people are ignoring or evading consumer protections laws, and seeking to gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors, then litigation is an essential tool and we will use it judiciously," the nominee revealed.

He also sees the bureau streamlining regulations and disclosures.

Cordray went on to say, "Our ‘Know Before You Owe' project is working to combine the mortgage disclosure forms required under two distinct but overlapping statutes to make the costs, risk and responsibilities of a home loan clearer to consumers and at the same time, to reduce paperwork burdens for lenders, which is a true win-win. We are looking to find the same sweet spot in the thicket of other regulations we have inherited from other agencies."

Comments from companies and individuals on service member offerings may be submitted to www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=CFPB_FRDOC_0001-0013 or MilitaryResponse@cfpb.gov.