Fischer bill would replace CFPB director with 5-member bipartisan board
Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) reintroduced legislation that would restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), replacing the director with a five-member bipartisan board of directors.
Under the Consumer Financial Protection Board Act each board member would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate with the president appointing the chair.
Board members would be bipartisan with no more than three coming from the same political party. They would each have staggered five-year terms. The bill would take effect once at least three board members have been confirmed by the Senate.
“For years, the bad decisions made by a single director at the CFPB have kept families locked out of economic opportunity. My bill would prevent this misconduct by divesting the authority from one director to a five-member bipartisan board. This much-needed structural adjustment would bring accountability to the bureau and give more Americans a chance to build their own businesses and provide for their families,” Fischer said.
Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) co-sponsored the bill. Fischer had introduced similar legislation in the 113th and 114th Congress.
It stems from an October 2016 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling that said the structure of the CFPB unconstitutional. The ruling cited, in part, how the bureau functions under a single director instead of a multi-member board.
Current CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s term doesn’t until July 15, 2018. Democratic members of the Senate banking Committee as well as the Congressional Black caucus have recently come out in support of Cordray.
http://financialregnews.com/fischer-bill-replace-cfpb-director-5-member-bipartisan-board/
