President Trump’s acting head of a federal consumer bureau proposed Monday to bring congressional oversight to the Obama-era agency that’s often criticized for its far-reaching regulating of the lending industry.
Mick Mulvaney, installed by Mr. Trump late last year to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the agency should receive its funding from Congress and should obtain lawmakers’ approval before imposing major rules on businesses.
“The bureau is far too powerful, with precious little oversight of its activities,” Mr. Mulvaney said in his first semiannual report. “The power wielded by the director of the bureau could all too easily be used to harm consumers, destroy businesses, or arbitrarily remake American financial markets.”
He said his proposals to the Congress would bring “meaningful accountability” to the CFPB by amending the Dodd-Frank financial law that established the agency.
Congressional Democrats set up the CFPB to receive its funding through the Federal Reserve, believing it would keep the agency independent.
Mr. Mulvaney also recommended that the CFPB’s director should answer directly to the president, and that Congress should create an inspector general for the bureau to investigate internal matters.
The progressive consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said Mr. Mulvaney’s proposals would thrust “a knife through the heart” of CFPB’s mandate to protect consumers from financial industry abuses.
“Mulvaney’s goal here is clear: to block, defund, and politicize the protections Dodd-Frank finally gave Main Street Americans with the creation of an agency to look out for our financial security. This plan must be stopped,” said Public Citizen vice president Lisa Gilbert.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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