Home / Daily Dose / Director Cordray Testifies Before the Financial Services Committee
Print This Post Print This Post

Director Cordray Testifies Before the Financial Services Committee

On Wednesday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray testified before the Financial Services Committee in a hearing titled “The 2016 Semi-Annual Reports of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.”

In his opening statement, Financial Services Committee Charmin Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) expressed surprise at Cordray’s appearance at the hearing, citing the president’s ability to remove the Director at will and reports that Cordray was to pursue an Ohio gubernatorial bid.

“There is no greater form of consumer protection than fostering competitive, innovative, and transparent markets, and then vigorously policing them for fraud, theft and deception,” said Hensarling. “In policing our markets, under Mr. Cordray’s leadership, the CFPB’s success record is anything but clear.”

According to Hensarling, the CFPB has shown an “utter disregard for protecting our markets and has made credit more expensive and less available.” Rather than acting as a “cop on the beat,” Hensarling called the Bureau the “Judge, Jury, and prosecutor all rolled up into one.”

Ranking Committee Member Maxine Waters (D-California) shared her support of the Bureau.

“Republicans have been clamoring to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since its inception,” said Water. “There are constituents in every state who have been ripped off by financial institutions. Why aren’t Republicans fighting for them or their financial security?”

“I will continue to stand up for the hardworking consumers, whom the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stands up for every day,” Waters continued.

In his prepared remarks, Cordray defended the role of the CFPB, especially given the current debate surrounding the Bureau.

“Years of uneven federal oversight on behalf of consumers allowed a lot of bad behavior to go unchecked,” Cordray’s remarks state. “As the independent consumer watchdog, we are solely focused on the job Congress gave us of assuring that these markets are fair, transparent, and competitive and consumers have access to sound financial products and services. Today, I want to highlight some areas where people remain vulnerable without the Consumer Bureau to stand up for them.”

More on this story as it breaks. Watch the hearing here.

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a contributing writer for DS News. He is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing, and has studied abroad in Athens, Greece. An East Texas native, he also works part-time as a photographer.
x

Check Also

Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady Moving Into the New Year

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee again chose that no action is better than changing rates as the economy begins to stabilize.