The proposal is one of several that could transform the bureau by changing how it is funded as well as its single director leadership structure.
07/20/2023 12:45 P.M.
2 minute read
The House Appropriations Committee’s annual financial services funding bill seeks to bring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into the congressional appropriations process and implement a bipartisan, five-member commission instead of a single director to lead the agency.
The committee approved the bill for fiscal year 2024 with a 34-26 vote, according to a news release.
If the CFPB is funded through congressional appropriations, the committee set the proposed budget at $635 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2024.
That is $15 million less than the authorized level and $26 million below the Federal Reserve transfer the bureau received through the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
The bill will be considered next on the House floor.
In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government 2024 Appropriations bill includes a proposed increase in funding for the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, according to a news release.
Meanwhile, several reform measures for the CFPB are pending consideration on the House floor.
The bill package (PDF) H.R. 2798 brings together several proposals on CFPB reform into one piece of legislation focused on changing the funding and leadership structure of the bureau and requiring all proposed rules to consider the impact on small businesses, among other items, ACA International previously reported.
Sponsor U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., introduced the CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act for markup at the House Financial Services Committee. It passed 26-23 on a party-line vote in May.
A third measure that could change the CFPB’s funding is set for oral arguments by the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 3, ACA previously reported.
The CFPB requested that the court address whether the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its ruling that the bureau’s funding structure through the Federal Reserve rather than the congressional appropriations process violates the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers.
ACA filed its amicus brief in the case last week.
In the amicus brief, ACA argues that the Supreme Court should affirm the 5th Circuit’s decision on the CFPB’s funding structure but delay its judgment for six months to allow Congress time to consider options to reconstitute the bureau while minimizing disruptions for consumers and regulated entities.
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