Senator Ted Cruz Introduces Legislation To Disband The CFPB

While there have long been calls on Capitol Hill to reform the CFPB with an eye toward scaling back some of its vast powers, at least two Republicans — one Senator and one Congressman — are ready to toss the whole thing on the scrap heap of history.

A pair of twin bills introduced yesterday in the House and Senate — by Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. John Ratcliffe (both from Texas) — would abolish the CFPB entirely by repealing Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which established the CFPB.

The move is justified, according to Cruz and Ratcliffe, since the CFPB does the exact opposite of what it was created to do.

“Don’t let the name fool you, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does little to protect consumers. During the Obama administration, the CFPB grew in power and magnitude without any accountability to Congress and the people, and I am encouraged by the actions President Trump has begun to take to roll back the harmful impacts of an out-of-control bureaucracy,” Cruz said.

“The legislation that Rep. Ratcliffe and I are introducing today gives Congress the opportunity to free consumers and small businesses from the CFPB’s regulatory blockades and financial activism, which stunt economic growth,” Cruz continued. “While there’s much more to do to scale back the harmful regulatory impositions of Dodd-Frank, this legislation takes a critical step in the right direction.”

Cruz and Ratcliffe have tried this one before — two years ago, the duo introduced a bill that also would have abolished the CFPB. This time around, though, Donald Trump as the sitting president has made Republicans much more confident in their ability to roll back parts of Dodd-Frank, or perhaps dismantle it entirely.

“The past several years showed us precisely why massive swaths of federal regulations are never the right solution to help hard-working Americans. President Trump has made it clear he’ll join us in our fight to dismantle Dodd-Frank and finally offer some relief to the small business owners throughout Texas and across the country who’ve been hit hardest by its devastating impact,” Ratcliffe said.

“The CFPB’s lack of accountability to the American people was quickly evidenced when – contrary to its name – it ended up hurting many of the very folks it was intended to help,” Ratcliffe continued. “While Sen. Cruz and I have been sounding the alarm on the CFPB’s federal overreach for some time now, I’m optimistic at our renewed chances of advancing this effort with a willing partner in the White House.”