Barr: The Best Consumer Protection Is Consumer Choice
Washington,
March 26, 2025 -
Today, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a Financial Institutions Subcommittee hearing, led by Subcommittee Chair Andy Barr (KY-06), to examine the current regulatory and legal landscape for federal consumer financial protection, as well as the structure and funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Read Subcommittee Chair Barr’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:
"I now recognize myself for 4 minutes for an opening statement.
"Thank you to our witnesses for joining us today for our first Financial Institutions Subcommittee Hearing in the 119th Congress.
"I am excited to lead this subcommittee again, especially at a time when we have an administration that understands the costs of burdensome overregulation.
"Nowhere has overregulation and overreach been more evident than at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which became the most unchecked and unaccountable agency in the entire federal government under the previous Administration.
"Under former Director Chopra, the CFPB prioritized politics over sound policy—leading to disastrous outcomes for American consumers.
"The good news is that a new era has begun under President Trump:
"An era where businesses are not attacked through press releases or tweets, curtailing their ability to offer financial services and products. Instead, they are encouraged to provide them in a competitive, safe, and sound manner.
"An era where the Bureau’s approach is not opaque and abusive, but transparent and fair.
"An era where those in charge prioritize administrative law over regulation by enforcement, avoiding extortionary civil investigative demands (or CIDs). I look forward to working with the CFPB in this new era.
"Past abuses, like those under Director Chopra, stem from significant structural flaws at the CFPB, which reduce accountability and lead to regulatory swings that stifle innovation and competition.
"Republicans have long called for reforms to ensure the Bureau is accountable to the American people. Today, we’ll propose transitioning the CFPB to a bipartisan commission and bringing it under congressional appropriations.
"I recently reintroduced the TABS Act, which would require the CFPB to go through the traditional congressional appropriations process. This will restore the power of the purse to Congress and ensure that the elected representatives of the American people have a say in the CFPB’s operations and budget.
"Beyond the structural flaws that we will explore today, I want to highlight two areas where the CFPB has abused its power and threatened – not helped – consumers in the process.
"The first is the abuse of CIDs.
"Under Director Chopra, the CFPB forced law-abiding financial services providers to sift through thousands of pages of business documents and sit for hours of oral testimony without specifying alleged wrongdoing—just hoping to find something.
"These fishing expeditions were designed to litigate companies into bankruptcy or destroy their reputations, doing nothing to protect consumers but harming them by eliminating products and services from the market.
"Alarmingly, Director Chopra acted as judge, jury, and executioner in each case, rejecting even the appearance of due process.
"In response, I introduced the CID Reform Act to impose guardrails on the use, scope, and process surrounding CIDs.
"The second is the CFPB’s UDAAP authority.
"The 'abusiveness' prong in the CFPB’s UDAAP authority is undefined. Under Director Chopra, the CFPB identified 'abusiveness' the same way Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did in describing his threshold test for obscenity – 'I know it when they see it.'
"This lack of guidance gives institutions no clarity on how to comply and opens the door for abuse by a rogue director.
"During President Trump’s first term, CFPB director Kathy Kraninger defined 'abusiveness.' Unsurprisingly, Director Chopra revoked this much-needed guidance.
"My bill, the Rectify UDAAP Act, defines 'abusiveness' to inject clarity and certainty, encouraging financial services providers to operate confidently and, in turn, increasing consumer access to vital products and services.
"The best consumer protection is consumer choice. A transparent, law-abiding CFPB will foster an environment that promotes competition and delivers better outcomes for all Americans.
"I look forward to discussing these issues today, and I yield back."
