House Approves Bill to Restructure CFPB (March 6, 2014)
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act (H.R. 3193), which combines six bills, approved by the House Financial Services Committee last November, that are designed to bring more accountability, oversight and transparency to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to the bill’s supporters. The vote was 232-182.
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.), the bill’s sponsor, claimed bipartisan support for the legislation in a press release; however, only 10 of 199 Democrats voted in favor of it. The bill likely won’t get beyond the U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama’s administration already has said the measure would be vetoed if it reached the president’s desk.
H.R. 3193 calls for the agency to be led by a five-member commission appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; sets CFPB employee pay rates in accordance with the federal pay scale, replacing the current practice of pay rates that are determined by the agency’s director, Richard Cordray; and the bill prohibits the agency from collecting personal financial data about consumers without their knowledge or consent, among other stipulations.
