House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) called on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray to abandon the $215.8 million renovation project for the agency's new headquarters and choose a less costly alternative.
In July 2014, Hensarling said he asked Cordray for the name of the person who made the decision to renovate the building, which the CFPB is leasing from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Hensarling said he has not received an answer and the project is behind schedule and over budget.
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The CFPB and the OCC appear to be offloading the building cost to the Fed, given that the CFPB can draw funds from the Federal Reserve under the Dodd-Frank Act, Hensarling said.
"However, because every dollar spent by the Bureau is one less dollar that the Fed can remit the U.S. Treasury to reduce the deficit, renovation costs paid by the Fed are ultimately borne by U.S. taxpayers," Hensarling said.
He added, "This convoluted scheme demonstrates the opacity and unaccountability of the Bureau's funding process," Hensarling wrote in a letter to the CFPB, General Services Administration and the OCC.
Hensarling suggested the OCC sell the building to the highest bidder and recommended the CFPB find cheaper office space elsewhere to save taxpayers $100 million.
"Given that the building has stood mostly empty since the Bureau moved out in July, a responsible private owner will no doubt put the asset to far better use," he said.
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