Maybe this time, things will be different. For not the first time, a bill has been introduced in Congress that seeks to change the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a multi-member commission from a single director organizational structure.
The bill will be introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-Miss.], the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. A copy of the bill can be accessed by clicking here. Rep. Luetkemeyer previously introduced similar legislation during the most recent Congressional session, but was not able to get any momentum behind his bill.
“The Bureau is constantly being used as a political football due to the almost limitless power of its director,” Rep. Luetkemeyer said in a statement. “Allowing one person to wield such unchecked authority over our economy is irresponsible and verges on negligence, which is precisely why many financial regulators are governed by a commission. The CFPB is currently being overseen by a single Acting Director who continues to make major, partisan policy decisions as he sees fit. The need for a bipartisan commission has never been clearer.”
The bill would also include a name change for the CFPB to the Consumer Financial Protection Commission.
It would create a five-member commission of individuals serving five-year terms, similar to how the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are organized. The president would have the power to remove any commissioner for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
Neither the bill nor a press release announcing its introduction mentions what would happen to Rohit Chopra, President Biden’s nominee to be the new director of the CFPB, who is currently awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
