Neugebauer Bill Would Allow Congress To Control Purse Strings of Consumer Agency

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, has offered legislation (H.R. 557) that would move the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) into the Department of the Treasury.

Such a move would undo the standalone agency envisioned under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, but allow greater congressional scrutiny of the CFPB’s operations and budget.

The Dodd-Frank financial reform law establishes an independent funding stream for the CFPB from money set aside for the Federal Reserve—a move that spares the new agency from annual congressional appropriations battles.

Several Republicans have identified the funding mechanism ...