This week, Bill wrote a letter to the editor of the Holland Sentinel explaining how the Financial Choice Act will  hold Washington bureaucrats accountable to hardworking taxpayers.
In 2010, the Democrat-led Congress passed and President Obama signed, the Dodd-Frank Act. Inside this massive bill were instructions to create a new federal agency called the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB).
Since its inception, the CFPB has wielded immense power with virtually no accountability. The CFPB doesn’t receive funding through the traditional Congressional appropriations process. Instead, they receive a blank check directly from the Federal Reserve. This is problematic because the “power of the purse” is the constitutional tool with which Congress holds federal agencies accountable on behalf of the American people. If Congress doesn’t have oversight of agency funding, citizens have no way of voicing their approval or disapproval of actions taken by the federal government.
The CFPB’s special funding mechanism is also problematic because “the Bureau” has established a blatant disregard for taxpayers. The CFPB rents a building next to the White House. The first estimate for renovations — for a building they do not own — was $55 million. In 2014, a report by the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General put the renovation price tag at an astounding $215 million. So how did costs soar? The CFPB proposed a few perks for themselves that included: a four-story glass staircase, a two-story waterfall and a sunken garden. Our children and grandchildren shouldn’t have to foot the bill so bureaucrats in Washington can have a room with a view. Thankfully, the Inspector General found that a “sound business case” could not be made for the enormous renovation costs.
Today, the CFPB continues to act with little oversight; however House Republicans are working to change that. The Financial CHOICE Act provides a sensible alternative to Dodd-Frank while restoring accountability to the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street. To learn more about this important legislation visit financialservices.house.gov/choice.