In advance of the House Financial Services Committee’s semiannual hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., presented his arguments for why the bureau is unconstitutional, in an article on Sunshine State News.
The article, titled, “Time to hold the CFPB accountable,” breaks down why he believes the CFPB “continues to operate in a manner unaccountable to Congress, the president and American taxpayers.”
Referencing the landmark PHH and CFPB case as evidence, Ross highlighted the court’s decision that stated, “Because the director alone heads the agency without presidential supervision, and in light of the CFPB’s broad authority over the U.S. economy, the director enjoys significantly more unilateral power than any single member of any other independent agency.”
Ross stated in the blog:
This unsettling unilateral power, coupled with the inability for other arms of the federal government to review or disapprove of the CFPB’s actions, not only flies in the face of our government’s system of checks and balances, but also promotes rogue operations and regulations that have the potential to grossly alter our economy and harm the livelihoods of millions of Americans.
As an example, Ross stated that the CFPB does not distinguish credit unions and community banks from large financial institutions and nonbank lenders.
The blog noted:
As a result, the CFPB’s broad and overly burdensome regulations are severely impairing these important community-based financial institutions by limiting consumer credit availability and choice, as well as increasing costs for credit union members and community bank customers.
The regulatory burden on community banks is an area that President Donald Trump has also highlighted, even holding listening sessions with leaders to gain input from them.
Ultimately, Ross stated that he is committed to working with colleagues to enact legislation that holds the CFPB accountable to all Americans, and to ensure its actions stop harming the consumers it was charged to protect.
The timing of the blog fits the scheduled CFPB hearing for this week. This year is likely to be more intense than in the past as the director is currently battling for the future of the bureau and perhaps his own job.
