Independent Journal Review By: Richard Berman Washington, D.C. is known for many things: Majestic monuments, smoky steakhouses, and wasteful bureaucracy at its worst. From the Environmental Protection Agency's crippling regulations to the Pentagon's $125 billion boondoggle, the swamp is full of critters. But no government agency is creepier or crawlier than the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). It starts with the CFPB's structure. Normally, government agencies like the State Department and Environmental Protection Agency are overseen by Congress, which determines funding levels and ... Read More »
Since I was first elected to Congress, I have fought to hold government agencies and Washington bureaucrats more accountable to Floridians and all Americans. Unfortunately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to operate in a manner unaccountable to Congress, the president and American taxpayers. You don’t have to take my word on this. On October 11, 2016, the D.C. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the CFPB’s leadership structure unconstitutional. In its decision, the court stated, “The [CFPB] Director enjoys significantly more unilateral power than any single member of... Read More »
As the following article from Real Clear Markets points out, the unaccountable and unconstitutional CFPB shows utter contempt for constitutional due process rights and tramples on the rule of law. This abuse may grab headlines, but it does not achieve justice and ultimately harms the very consumers the Bureau is supposed to protect. “Prohibited by statute from regulating auto dealers, the agency targeted them anyway” “Actions that were legal when PHH engaged in them became illegal through some after-the-fact interpretive magic by the bureau” “CFPB violated due process” “The bureau assumed awa... Read More »
By: Jeb Hensarling Wall Street Journal February 9, 2017 The Obama presidency placed no greater burden on America’s growth potential than the avalanche of regulations that smother the U.S. economic system. The most destructive and dangerous of the new regulatory bureaucracies created by the Democrat-dominated 111th Congress is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB stands with ObamaCare as a crowning “achievement” of Mr. Obama’s transformation of America. With unprecedented automatic funding provided directly by the Federal Reserve, the agency is unanswerable to anyone. Democrats ch... Read More »
‘Overregulation has caused costs to go through the roof, many banks have been shut down and that has hit small businesses’ ‘We can’t afford to keep going the way we’re going’ By Joyce M. Rosenberg Associated Press Feb. 8, 2017 Small community banks say Dodd-Frank regulations too much of a burden. NEW YORK — Community banks that can be vital to many small businesses are hopeful about changes that the Trump administration and Congress have promised to legislation passed after the financial crisis that tightened supervision of Wall Street and the banking industry. The number of small, local banks... Read More »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) Remarks to the Exchequer Club, Nov. 16, 2016 *As Prepared for Delivery Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Jeb Hensarling – and I approve this message. No, I think we’ve all had enough of that to last us for a while. Our long national nightmare is finally over: the 2016 campaign. Don’t worry; it will be at least a couple of weeks before the next campaign season really picks back up again. Just for fun, the other day I googled “2020 presidential election.” It lists 49 potential candidates. So get ready, America! We’ve only got about 1,155 d... Read More »
$400 million in cash stacked on wooden pallets carried in secret by an unmarked cargo plane on the same day four American prisoners were released from Iran. That’s what Chairman Sean Duffy and the Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee will be examining this Thursday, along with the impact of such a payment on terrorism financing. Watch and share this video and be sure to tune in on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. ### Read More »
Just last week the White House was claiming that the crushing regulatory burden of the Dodd-Frank Act wasn’t harming community banks – not one bit. Community bankers, credit union leaders and small business owners told us that’s absolutely not true. Today’s report from Bloomberg (Headline: Bank Mergers Heading for Seven-Year High, Pushed by Costly Rules) once again exposes how feeble the White House’s spin is: Here’s an irony: U.S. regulators looking to avoid bailouts of too-big-to-fail banks have passed so many rules that regional and local lenders are combining to stomach the costs. The res... Read More »
Like Captain Renault, Americans are shocked – SHOCKED – that a report by the White House says a law supported by the White House doesn’t hurt community banks, no matter what. Well, over the last few years Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have asked community bankers, credit union leaders, and small business operators what THEY think about the Dodd-Frank Act. After all, as our nation loses one community financial institution each day, they are the ones who have to somehow comply with Dodd-Frank’s crushing regulatory burden. Here are some of their voices: “Community banks a... Read More »
