Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, got a taste yesterday of what it’s going to be like for at least the next two years every time he heads up to Capitol Hill to visit the House Financial Services Committee, with Republicans calling on the CFPB to rescind a number of actions it has taken and blasting what they described as an “appalling” lack of transparency.
Chopra can also expect “much more thorough” oversight next year when Republicans take control of the House of Representatives and Rep. Patrick McHenry [R-N.C.] assumes the chair of the House Financial Services Committee.
The CFPB has issued six compliance bulletins, five advisory opinions, five interpretive rules, and published seven circulars this year, which have the effect of fostering “uncertainty” within the financial services industry, Rep. McHenry said during his opening remarks. Rep. McHenry said that Chopra can look forward to more invitations to appear before the House Financial Services Committee next year. Traditionally, the Director appears before the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee twice each year to report on the state of affairs within the Bureau.
Addressing Chopra for the last time as chair of the committee, Rep. Maxine Waters [D-Calif.] applauded the CFPB “for once again putting all of our consumers first” and calling out a “deeply flawed” ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in which the funding mechanism of the CFPB was declared to be unconstitutional.
During his opening statement, Chopra noted issues with medical debt and medical debt credit reporting persist and that the CFPB is continuing “to examine how medical debt burdens are impacting household balance sheets.”
Chopra is due to testify before the Senate Banking Committee today. He’ll likely have a much easier time with Democrats still in control of that side of Congress.
