The House Financial Services Committee has approved a bill that would make the CFPB’s budget subject to the approval of Congress
The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would bring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s budget under congressional oversight.
Currently, the CFPB draws its funds from the Federal Reserve instead of by congressional appropriation. But House Republicans have long opposed the arrangement, saying the agency operates practically without oversight.
Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) called the CFPB a “rogue agency” that needed the tether of congressional oversight to rein it in.
“Every government agency should be accountable to the elected representatives of ‘We the People,’ and the CFPB should not be an exception to that rule,” Hensarling said. “We have the Pentagon, which is on budget. We have the Justice Department, which is on budget. There is certainly no greater duty we have than to provide of the common defense, and we do not let the Pentagon write its own budget. We should not let the CFPB write its own budget.”
The bill authorizes $485.1 million for the CFPB – the same amount Director Richard Cordray determined was sufficient to fund the agency during the most recent fiscal year.
Currently, the CFPB draws its funds from the Federal Reserve instead of by congressional appropriation. But House Republicans have long opposed the arrangement, saying the agency operates practically without oversight.
Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) called the CFPB a “rogue agency” that needed the tether of congressional oversight to rein it in.
“Every government agency should be accountable to the elected representatives of ‘We the People,’ and the CFPB should not be an exception to that rule,” Hensarling said. “We have the Pentagon, which is on budget. We have the Justice Department, which is on budget. There is certainly no greater duty we have than to provide of the common defense, and we do not let the Pentagon write its own budget. We should not let the CFPB write its own budget.”
The bill authorizes $485.1 million for the CFPB – the same amount Director Richard Cordray determined was sufficient to fund the agency during the most recent fiscal year.
