Mulvaney Recommends Structural Changes to CFPB

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney has released his first Semi-Annual Report to Congress. The period covered by this report, April 1, 2017-September 30, 2017, does not include his own time in the office. It is notably different than the reports submitted by his predecessor, Richard Cordray, as he includes recommendations to limit the power of the position he holds. In his opening message Mulvaney says,

“As has been evident since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bureau is far too powerful, and with precious little oversight of its activities. Per the statute, in the normal course the Bureau’s Director simultaneously serves in three roles: as a one-man legislature empowered to write rules to bind parties in new ways; as an executive officer subject to limited control by the President; and as an appellate judge presiding over the Bureau’s in-house court-like adjudications.”

He then makes the following recommendations:

1. Fund the Bureau through Congressional appropriations;
2. Require legislative approval of major Bureau rules;
3. Ensure that the Director answers to the President in the exercise of executive authority; and
4. Create an independent Inspector General for the Bureau.

You can download the full report here.

The report makes brief mention of debt collection rules, confirming that "the Bureau will work towards releasing a proposed rule concerning FDCPA collectors’ communications practices and consumer disclosures." No estimated timing is provided.

Mulvaney is scheduled to testify to Congress next Wednesday, April 11, regarding his recommendations and his work so far at the Bureau.