U.S. Rep Andy Barr (R-KY) reintroduced legislation this week that would make the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) subject to congressional appropriations.
The Taking Account of Bureaucrats’ Spending (TABS) Act was first introduced in the 114th Congress.
“I am reintroducing the TABS Act because the Bureau deserves the same scrutiny and the same checks and balances as any other federal agency,” Barr said. “Congressional oversight and accountability will ensure that the Bureau stays true to its mission of consumer protection, and avoids politically motivated overreaches, wasteful spending, and unnecessary regulations.”
The CFPB is currently funded directly by the Federal Reserve. At a Committee on Financial Services hearing last year, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed that the Fed does not approve or even oversee the budget of more than $600 million a year it gives to the CFPB.
In additional regulation of CFPB, the Financial Choice Act, sponsored by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), proposes to change the CFPB to the Consumer Law Enforcement Agency. The bill would limit the agency’s power and mandates that its director is removable at will by the president. Like the TABS Act, it stipulates that the agency’s budget would be controlled by Congress.
The act was approved by the House Financial Services Committee, but still needs to be considered on the full House floor.