More fun from the Republicans readying themselves for power in the House next year. Last week, American Banker reported that an assault on the not-yet-functional Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is already underway.
Rep. Scott Garrett, who hopes to chair the capital markets subcommittee, took a hard-line stance Wednesday, calling on the administration to dismantle the new consumer bureau before it is even started. “We don’t need a CFPB,” he said. “That would be a great first step for this administration if they want to start showing how they are willing to work with us, to say that, ‘We recognize the failure that this doesn’t do anything to address the problems so let’s start unwinding that.'”
Spencer Bachus, in line to take over the House Financial Services committee, has already signaled his intentions to tinker with the CFPB’s funding. Under Dodd-Frank, the CFPB receives its funding from the Federal Reserve, thus insulating it from congressional pressure. Bachus wants to make CFPB’s funding part of the regular congressional appropriations process — so he can exert pressure on it.