Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, personally delivered a letter to Chairman French Hill (R-AR) during a full Committee Markup, urging him to comply with the Committee’s legal obligation under the Dodd-Frank Act requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director to appear before Congress for a semi-annual report.

This letter follows a formal request the Congresswoman sent in February, which Chairman Hill denied.

In the letter, Congresswoman Waters underscores the importance of complying with Section 1016 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which mandates that the CFPB Director appear before Congress twice a year. These semiannual hearings serve as a critical opportunity for the CFPB to provide transparency, update lawmakers on its work, and demonstrate accountability to the American public. The Congresswoman also stresses the urgency of the hearing, particularly in light of the Trump Administration’s continued illegal shutdown of the CFPB and Republicans’ recently passed bill defunding the agency’s budget, which will severely undermine the Bureau’s ability to protect American consumers. Waters further highlights that since assuming office, Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has taken a number of troubling actions, including halting key agency operations, raising serious concerns about the Bureau’s commitment to its consumer protection mission.

“During the week of the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), I write again to respectfully request that you, as our Chairman, work to ensure our Committee complies with Section 1016 of that Act requiring semiannual hearings with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director, and promptly invite Acting Director Russell Vought to testify before our Committee,” wrote Ranking Member Waters. “The need for convening this hearing and some basic oversight grows by the day. The Republican Congress recently slashed the CFPB’s budget in nearly half without getting any kind of analysis from Acting Director Vought or other CFPB officials what the implications are for this terrible policy. Meanwhile, Acting Director Vought has claimed the CFPB is prioritizing protecting servicemembers, and yet he recently let a bad actor off the hook for harming servicemembers and their families.”

Read the full HERE.

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