Hearing of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The First 100 Days

Statement

This morning's hearing marks the second oversight hearing this subcommittee has conducted regarding the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Today we are joined by Mr. Raj Date, Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I would like to welcome Mr. Date to his first hearing before this committee in this capacity and thank him for his willingness to participate.

Created by the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB has officially been operational for a little over one hundred days. However, absent the Senate confirmation of a director, the CFPB does not have their full powers. The focus of this morning's hearing will give members of the subcommittee the opportunity to learn more about the operations of the bureau since the designated transfer date. These types of hearings are critical as the drafters of the Dodd-Frank Act allowed for little oversight of the CFPB.

As my colleagues know, the CFPB is funded through a unique mechanism that allows them to draw a percentage of the Federal Reserve's operating expenses each year. They do have the ability to draw on $200 million in federal appropriations if they exhaust the Federal Reserve funds; however, they have not drawn on these funds so it is very difficult for the United States Congress to have proper oversight over how they are spending the taxpayer's dollars.

Bringing the CFPB onto the annual appropriations' process is just one of several reforms that Republicans have offered to improve the structure of the CFPB and make it a more accountable and transparent agency. Earlier this year, the House passed common sense reforms to convert the leadership structure of the CFPB to a five person commission and allow for a greater balance between consumer protection and the safe and sound operations of United States Financial Institutions. The United States Senate should adopt these reforms so we can move forward with ensuring that American consumers are protected by a balanced and transparent agency.

I look forward to hearing from Mr. Date about the operations of the CFPB since the designated transfer date. I know members have many questions for him, so I will save further questions and statements for my questioning. In the case that member's do not have sufficient time to ask their questions, I will encourage them to send them in writing. There are many important issues to discuss and we may not have enough time to cover all of them.

Again, I would like to thank Mr. Date for appearing before the subcommittee. I will now yield to the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, the gentle lady from New York, Ms. Maloney, for the purposes of making an opening statement.

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