Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, congressional oversight makes agencies both more responsive and more responsible. The Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the CFPB to fund itself by drawing money from the Federal Reserve to the extent that the Bureau Director deems necessary--necessary--that is all he has to say. Now, the Fed doesn't oversee the Bureau. They don't exercise any authority over it, but they must transfer whatever funds the Bureau requests, up to $600 million. And since 2011, the Bureau has diverted over $1.5 billion-- $1.5 billion--from the Fed, and those are funds that would otherwise be applied for deficit reduction, without any congressional input or approval of its activities. And listen to this: of that money that the Bureau has received, they are now planning to spend more on renovating and redecorating a building than the building is actually worth. The inspector general of the Federal Reserve, which has oversight of the Bureau, also found that the Bureau needs to improve its recordkeeping and controls around the government travel cards, purchase cards, conferences, information, security, and procurement. So section 501 neither abolishes the Bureau nor limits the Bureau's funding. Instead, it simply allows Congress and all Americans to understand what they do, how they do it, and how much it costs. Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``no'' vote. I would now like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), my ranking member.”