A bill to replace the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus director leadership with a bipartisan commission appointed by the president was introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), chairman of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
The bill, which would transform the CFPBs leadership into an independent Financial Product Safety Commission, has 20 co-sponsors - including U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), who supported similar legislation in the past, and U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.).
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who worked to establish the CFPB, Barney Frank and President Barack Obama, all previously have supported a board leadership structure at the CFPB, according to Neugebauer.
"As we approach the five-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, which created the CFPB, now is a good time to reflect on the bureaus impact on the American consumer," Neugebauer said. "Over the last several years, the bureaus actions and record have proven it cant function in a sustainable manner. Perhaps, more than any other Washington agency, the CFPB has demonstrated a lack of transparency and a lack of accountability. It has proven it is susceptible to political influence, bringing into question its independence.
"This bill is not an attempt to weaken the CFPB, it is a push to strengthen the CFPB and ensure greater consumer protections for the American people," Neugebauer said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee and in Congress to move this much-needed bill forward."
