Sponsored by House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), the Consumer Financial Freedom and Washington Accountability Act, HR 3193, passed on a mostly party-line vote, would replace the director with a five-member commission and give Congress oversight of the budget. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) calls it “the single most powerful and least accountable Federal agency in the history of our nation and thus demands rigorous oversight. The American people deserve better. We do need protection for consumers from Wall Street but consumers need to be protected from Washington as well,” he said. The bill would remove it from Federal Reserve control and make it a stand-alone independent agency, subject to the appropriations process like other federal agencies.
U. S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), in opposing the measure, said, “The CFPB has ensured that all consumers have fair and transparent access to consumer financial products and services. It has written important mortgage rules that prevent lenders from engaging in the risky and irresponsible practices that led to the collapse of the housing market and fueled the 2008 global financial crisis.” She said its enforcement actions have resulted in over three billion dollars being refunded to nine million consumers.
Critics also complain it intends to spend $145 million on renovations to a building it does not even own. As housingwire.com tells MHProNews, HR 3193 now moves to the Democrat-controlled Senate where it faces an uphill battle. ##
