Mike Haridopolos: “I appreciate the opportunity to speak on a very important issue that is facing more and more communities as they are…”

“I appreciate the opportunity to speak on a very important issue that is facing more and more communities as they are faced with pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, commonly known as the CFPB. What was created under the guise of consumer protection has instead become a regulatory juggernaut, unaccountable and insulated from the very people it claims to serve, the consumers. From the beginning, the CFPB was designed to operate outside the bounds of congressional oversight. It was built to be an agency that answers to no one, making sweeping financial regulations without the scrutiny that our Constitution demands. Its most recent Director turned his bureaucratic machine into a weapon against economic growth, limiting access to credit and strangling the very small businesses and community banks that form the backbone of our economy. {time} 1745 The problem is clear. First and foremost, a lack of accountability. The CFPB functions without proper congressional oversight, wielding immense power without the input of elected Representatives. No agency should have the ability to dictate financial policy without being held accountable by the people. Second, funding without oversight. Unlike nearly every other Federal agency, the CFPB is funded directly by the Federal Reserve, rather than through the regular congressional appropriation process.…”