WASHINGTON Rep. Patrick McHenry, a major critic of the Dodd-Frank Act, continued to voice opposition to the bank reform bill during NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus Monday, focusing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The North Carolina Republican applauded NAFCU’s opposition to the CFPB. “You were the only credit union organization that stood firmly against CFPB,” McHenry told about 450 credit union executives.
The House Financial Services Committee member worried about the growing size and spending at the nascent federal agency, saying it already has hired 1,541 employees, “and they could double the number of employees without even a vote of Congress.” He said those employees are already having a negative effect on the availability of credit, the costs of compliance and of financial products and services. The costs, said McHenry, are being passed on to consumers. He also claimed the CFPB’s new rules are locking out some consumers.
Noting that the new agency was aimed at helping the consumer, McHenry alleged the experience has “run counter to that.”
