Bill calling for CFPB transparency passes in overwhelming majority vote

Legislation that would bring more transparency and accountability to the CFPB passed the U.S. House of Representatives with very few opposing it.

A bill that would bring greater transparency and accountability to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) passed the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 401 to 2 this week.

H.R. 1265, better known as the Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act, was introduced by Representative Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, in March with co-sponsors Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and Andy Barr R-Kentucky.

Specifically, the legislation calls for each advisory committee and subcommittee of the CFPB to be subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, making the proceedings of those committees open to the public.

“This bill ensures we as an American family can see what takes place at the CFPB – it makes complete sense.” He continued, “This is about making government work; making it accountable and transparent. That should start at these meetings,” Duffy said during the congressional debate on H.R. 1265.

Click on the image below to watch Duffy’s remarks.

Bill calling for CFPB transparency passes in overwhelming majority vote

Only three agencies are exempted by statute from open meeting provisions in the Federal Advisory Committee Act, those include: the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Federal Reserve.

Supporters of the legislation argue that the CFPB is not involved in intelligence collection, covert operations, or the formation of monetary policy, so there is no reason that it cannot hold its committee and subcommittee meetings in public.