Today, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled, "Legislative Proposals to Improve Transparency and Accountability at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." The hearing will include discussion on eleven bills.

Statement of Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending:

"In its first two years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) returned hundreds of millions of dollars to families, took enforcement action against abusive and predatory lending, filed suit against auto finance companies engaged in discriminatory loan practices and for-profit colleges that deceived student borrowers, and produced groundbreaking research on the impact of a variety of financial products on American households.

The bills being discussed today would add unnecessary and redundant review of rules to protect consumers, create roadblocks to critical research on questionable financial practices, and undercut the ability of enforcement officials to hold bad actors accountable. One bill preemptively blocks the consumer agency from developing appropriate rules for consumers who have been mistreated by credit card companies and others from getting a fair hearing in court.

The consumer agency has already made an extraordinary impact creating greater transparency and accountability in the banking system. These bills do nothing to enhance consumer protection, improve the efficiency of the agency or promote a fair marketplace. In fact, they take us in the opposite direction. We urge members to oppose the entire package of bills."

The hearing is slated for Wednesday, May 21 at 2 pm. A list of the bills being considered is below:

  • HR 3389 – The CFPB Slush Fund Elimination Act of 2013
  • HR 3770 – The CFPB-IG Act of 2013
  • HR 4262 – The Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act
  • HR 4383 – The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Small Business Advisory Board Act
  • HR 4539 – The Bureau Research Transparency Act
  • HR 4604 The CFPBH Data Collection Security Act
  • HR 4662 – The Bureau Advisory Opinion Act
  • Discussion Draft of the "Bureau Arbitration Fairness Act"
  • Discussion Draft of the "Bureau Guidance Transparency Act"
  • Discussion Draft of the "Preventing Regulatory Abuse Act of 2014"
  • Discussion Draft of the " Bureau Examination Fairness Act"

For more information, contact Catherine An at catherine.an@responsiblelending.org or call 202-349-1878

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