Mike Quigley: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Before Dodd-Frank, consumer protection laws were enforced by a patchwork of…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Before Dodd-Frank, consumer protection laws were enforced by a patchwork of different regulations, each focused on their own issues. The CFPB enhanced and simplified consumer regulation, consolidating enforcement into a single authority devoted to all aspects of consumer protection ranging from oversight over mortgages and credit cards to unregulated products previously, like payday and student loans. The Wells Fargo fake account scandal, which CFPB played a key role in exposing, and the more recent Equifax data breach show precisely why we need a well-resourced and functional CFPB. By subjecting the CFPB to the appropriations process, the goal is not to provide necessary oversight. Considerable accountability measures already exist. It is to starve them of funding and weaken their ability to do their job. We have seen this before with other financial regulators like the FCC and CFTC, who are still struggling to carry out Dodd-Frank rulemaking. Therefore, I ask my colleagues to preserve the independence, stand on the side of consumers, and vote ``yes'' on the Ellison amendment. {time} 1515”