I have said it on numerous occasions that hearings before the House and Senate committees are little more than theater, especially when the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the house, but tomorrow, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will talk about the CFPB without inviting anyone from the Bureau to participate.
The hearing kicks off at 10am ET Thursday morning and can be watched live here.
The subcommittee has invited a number of individuals to testify:
- Bill Himpler, CEO, American Financial Services Association
- Brian Johnson, Managing Director, Patomak Global Partners LLC
- Jessica Thompson, Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Devin Watkins, Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Keith Ellison, Attorney General, State of Minnesota
Johnson is a former Deputy Director of the CFPB and spent five years as a staff member for the House Financial Services Committee. In his testimony, Johnson says the frequency with which issues arise where the CFPB is accused of operating outside the boundaries of the law “compels the conclusion that the CFPB is ripe for reform.”
Along with hearing testimony from the witnesses, the subcommittee will also spend time discussing a number of bills that have been introduced related to the CFPB, including three bills that were introduced yesterday. Two of them, a bill to make the CFPB a Consumer Financial Protection Commission and to make the CFPB’s Inspector General position confirmable by the Senate, were introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-Mo.]. The other bill, which seeks to rename the CFPB the Consumer Financial Empowerment Agency and make it subject to the Congressional appropriations process, was introduced by Rep. Andy Barr [R-Kent.], the chair of the subcommittee hosting tomorrow’s hearing. They join a number of other bills, including one introduced last week by Rep. Alex Mooney [R-W.V.].
More information about the bills being discussed during the hearing is available by clicking here
