About Us

William Proxmire was the United States Senator from Wisconsin from August, 1957 until January, 1989. From 1975 to 1981 and again from 1987 to 1989, he served as Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Among his many accomplishments, he was the chief sponsor and was largely responsible for the Consumer Credit Protection Act, major legislation that for the first time created national framework for bringing fairness to consumers entering into credit transactions. The Truth-in-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act are just three of the laws comprised within the Consumer Credit Protection Act whose protections we have taken for granted for several decades.

It is fitting that the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers chose to name its Lifetime Achievement Award in memory of Senator Proxmire. Most of us have had careers devoted to educating, litigating, explaining, interpreting and implementing the federal consumer protection laws for which Senator Proxmire was responsible. The Senator William Proxmire Lifetime Achievement Award is granted periodically by the College to a person who has made significant contributions in the field of consumer financial services over that person’s career.