Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to engage in a colloquy with you on an important issue related to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

This Congress should act swiftly and establish a five-member, bipartisan commission at the CFPB. A commission structure will bring much needed certainty and stability to consumers and small businesses who are the most deeply impacted by regulation that reduces access to banking products and drives up costs.

According to FDIC data, financial institutions of all sizes provide more than $4 trillion in consumer loans to help America's consumers achieve their dreams of purchasing a car, buying their first home, or even providing an education for their children. Financial institutions also provide more than $600 billion in small business loans to help entrepreneurs start or grow their businesses and create jobs. The ability of banks and credit unions to continue to serve their communities by providing access to credit is critical to making these dreams a reality. Therefore, it is important that the agencies that regulate our nation's depository institutions are stable, transparent, and provide long term certainty.

A five-member, bipartisan commission at the CFPB will help achieve just that. Right now, a sole director at the CFPB over politicizes what should be an impartial regulatory body. With every new Director there could be a dramatic regulatory whipsaw effect. This volatility will leave financial institutions limited in their ability to properly serve customers because of an inability to plan for the long-term.

Protecting consumers and increasing access to well-regulated financial products should be a top priority of the CFPB. A bipartisan board will ensure consumers best interests are always first by increasing transparency and stability in the rulemaking process and allowing for more robust debate with many different viewpoints considered.

On multiple occasions, the House of Representatives has passed legislation to create a bipartisan commission, and most importantly, the American people have made clear that they believe a bipartisan commission is a better form of leadership at the CFPB. In fact, a recent Morning Consult poll showed that registered voters support a bipartisan commission at the CFPB by a 3 to 1 margin, and that just 14 percent of voters believe the CFPB structure should be left the way it is now.

Congress must implement structural changes at the CFPB. The future of consumer and small business lending is too vital to have uncertainty at the Bureau.

Mr. Chairman, do you agree that the regulatory agencies that oversee banks and credit unions should take into account the impact to all stakeholders and bring certainty to the regulatory framework? Will you commit to working with me to depoliticize the CFPB once and for all, and bring a stable form of leadership to the Bureau that is in keeping with most other financial service regulators?

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