December 29, 2011
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is “deeply flawed,” says U.S. Chamber of Commerce President CEO Tom Donohue in a recent editorial.
In the piece, he advocates that President Obama should not use a recess appointment to install former Ohio AG Richard Cordray as the CFPB’s new director until changes to the agency are made.
“This would undermine the collaboration needed to fix our economy and modernize the financial system,” he writes. “It would also take away the only real check Congress has over the bureau’s enormous power — the confirmation of its director. And an unreformed, unaccountable CFPB would threaten our recovery at the worst possible time.”
Instead, he feels Washington should be focusing on weeding out predatory lending, financial scams and fraud that “poison a competitive marketplace and harm consumers and legitimate businesses.”
The reforms for the CFPB, which Donohue states are “obvious and necessary,” include placing the CFPB’s leadership in the hands of a panel as opposed to as sole director, as well as requiring Congress to approve the agency’s budget.
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“Until those fundamental flaws are fixed, the president should stand down,” Donohue concludes.
Click here to read the complete editorial.
