House Republicans Delivering Results for American People

Floor Speech

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Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on a very important issue that is facing more and more communities as they are faced with pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, commonly known as the CFPB.

What was created under the guise of consumer protection has instead become a regulatory juggernaut, unaccountable and insulated from the very people it claims to serve, the consumers.

From the beginning, the CFPB was designed to operate outside the bounds of congressional oversight. It was built to be an agency that answers to no one, making sweeping financial regulations without the scrutiny that our Constitution demands.

Its most recent Director turned his bureaucratic machine into a weapon against economic growth, limiting access to credit and strangling the very small businesses and community banks that form the backbone of our economy.

The problem is clear. First and foremost, a lack of accountability. The CFPB functions without proper congressional oversight, wielding immense power without the input of elected Representatives. No agency should have the ability to dictate financial policy without being held accountable by the people.

Second, funding without oversight. Unlike nearly every other Federal agency, the CFPB is funded directly by the Federal Reserve, rather than through the regular congressional appropriation process. This structure allows it to bypass the checks and balances system that protects taxpayers from runaway regulatory excess.

Third, a constitutional violation. The power to tax and spend belongs to Congress. That is not a tradition. That is the law. The CFPB structure is a direct affront to the principle, undermining the separation of powers that defines our democracy.

The consequences have been devastating. The CFPB's heavyhanded regulations are cutting off access to credit for those who need it most. Small businesses are struggling to secure the loans necessary to grow and create jobs. Entrepreneurs, working families, and farmers are finding it harder to get the capital that they need to succeed. The community banks that support Main Street are drowning under the weight of this unnecessary and costly compliance burden.

Madam Speaker, this is not how government by the people and for the people should function.

The solution is simple: Congress must reassert its constitutional authority. We must bring the CFPB under the regular appropriations process, ensuring that no agency operates without unchecked power.

Regulatory agencies must answer to the people, not operate as independent kingdoms making rules without congressional oversight.

Madam Speaker, we stand at a crossroads. We cannot allow an unaccountable bureaucracy to continue restricting access to capital, hindering small businesses, and suffocating economic opportunity. We must restore the balance of power and ensure transparency and put the authority back where it belongs: with the American people through its elected Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join Chairman French Hill and my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee in finally reining in the CFPB, restoring congressional oversight, and reaffirming our commitment to the principles of accountability and economic freedom. The future of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and hardworking families depends on it.

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