ELLSWORTH AFB, SD – Today, Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Military Construction and VA Appropriations Subcommittee, welcomed Holly Petraeus, Director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Ellsworth Air Force Base.  Chairman Johnson and Mrs. Petraeus hosted town hall meetings with airmen at the base, fielding questions and explaining the role of the CFPB in their financial lives. 

“I always enjoy getting the opportunity to meet with servicemembers at Ellsworth.  They work hard to protect us and ensure our safety, so the least we can do in return is provide them with the tools to protect their own financial futures,” said Senator Johnson.  “I appreciate Mrs. Petraeus making the trip to Ellsworth to speak with our servicemembers directly. Mrs. Petraeus and her office are doing great work empowering servicemembers, veterans, and their families to make informed financial decisions, and it was very special to have her on the base today.”

The Office of Servicemember Affairs at the CFPB was set up to educate and empower military personnel and their families to make informed financial decisions.  As part of that effort, the office partners with the Pentagon to protect the military community by providing them with financial education, monitoring and responding to consumer complaints, and helping federal and state agencies improve consumer protection.

Since joining the CFPB, Mrs. Petraeus  has visited 32 separate Military Installation Units, met with the senior leadership of 14 different state National Guards and has met with 13 different state Attorneys General. 

Petraeus, who is the spouse of retired Army General and current Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus, was a military spouse for 37 years and a former Department of the Army civilian employee. Before joining the CFPB, Petraeus served six years as the director of Better Business Bureau Military Line, a Council of Better Business Bureaus program providing consumer education and advocacy for servicemembers and families.

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