On the recordFebruary 27, 2014
I thank the chairman for all the work that he has put in on this consumer financial protection reform bill. This is really a bill about accountability and transparency. As has been discussed today, the CFPB is collecting information on almost 1 billion credit cards--1 billion credit cards--which means if you are an American and you have a credit card, the CFPB is collecting and monitoring your transactions. So what we have done is said: Listen, if you are here to protect a consumer, why don't you ask the consumer for permission and consent to take their information? If we care about the American citizenry--if we care about consumers and don't care about Big Government and the information they have on us, let's give them the power. Let's ask them. That is all we do. Empower the American citizenry. Again, let's empower Congress and the American people as well. When we don't fund agencies through this institution, we lose authority; we lose oversight. Let's take that power and control back into Congress, and let's actually put the power back in the hands of the people; but if you empower the Fed to fund this agency, you have taken the control away from this institution. That is wrong. One of the most important reform parts of this bill is meaningful to me because I come from rural America; and the way that the law is structured is that if a bad rule comes from the CFPB, it can be overturned.…
