Waters to Introduce Legislation to Beef Up CFPB

New House Financial Service Chairwoman Maxine Waters said Wednesday she will soon introduce legislation to “undo” the Trump Administration decisions at the CFPB.

“I consider it the centerpiece of the Dodd-Frank reforms,” the California Democrat said in a speech at the Center for America Progress Action Fund, a progressive policy and advocacy group in Washington.

In the speech, Waters, known for being blunt and outspoken, launched a broadside against the administration.

“We’re not relying on the administration for much of anything,” she said.

She added, “We have a dysfunctional White House. You never know what to expect.”

As she has in the past, Waters accused former CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney of being “determined to undermine and destroy” the CFPB.

“Mulvaney made it a priority to destroy the consumer bureau from within,” she said.

Waters again said she will be calling Mulvaney before the committee in an attempt to hold him accountable for his tenure at the agency.

She also said she will be reintroducing the “Consumers First Act,” which she introduced during the last Congress.

That bill would have, among other things, reversed an agency reorganization plan that Mulvaney instituted, ensured that the agency’s consumer complaint database remains public, reinstituted agreements with the Education Department governing student loan servicing, strengthened the bureau’s advisory boards.

Waters also said that she will introduce comprehensive housing legislation, which will, among other things, attempt to undo some of the decisions made by HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who she said has attempted to weaken housing programs.

She added that the nation faces a homelessness and housing affordability crisis, adding that she wants to “elevate housing into a national discussion.”

However, she added that any housing legislation must provide credit unions and community banks “with a level playing field.”

Waters also discussed her other priorities for the committee during this Congress, including:

• Creation of a diversity and inclusion subcommittee that she hopes will foster greater diversity in the financial services industry.
• Exploring ways that fintech companies can provide services to people not being served by traditional financial institutions. At the same time, she said, the federal government must ensure that the industry has proper oversight.
• Examining and changing the nation’s credit reporting system. “Credit reporting needs a comprehensive overhaul,” she said.

Waters said she has fostered a good working relationship with the new ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. She said she hopes that committee Republicans will be willing to work with her on several legislative initiatives.

But she added, “If they don’t, I have the gavel.”