Republican Leaders Of House Financial Services Committee Tell CFPB To Stop Issuing Final Rules

The current and incoming Republican leaders of the House Financial Services Committee have asked financial regulators, including the CFPB, to stop “finalizing partisan rulemaking” over the next several weeks.

“The financial system, its institutions, consumers, and the CFPB itself do not benefit from last-minute partisan rulemaking attempts,” current Chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.; and Rep. French Hill, R-Ark, the likely incoming chairman, wrote in a December 16 letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

They added, “The Congressional Review Act (CRA) authorizes Congress to disapprove rulemakings, including those finalized toward the end of the Congress.”

Similar letters were sent to the Treasury Department, HUD, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the OCC and the FHFA.

McHenry and Hill also directed the CFPB to “preserve all existing and future documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may potentially be responsive to a congressional inquiry, request, investigation, or subpoena that may be initiated or otherwise undertaken by a committee of Congress or any other investigative entity.”

The letters echo a call by Senate Banking Committee ranking Republican Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who has called on financial regulators, including the CFPB, to pause all rulemaking and enforcement actions until the new administration takes office. Several agencies agreed to that request. During a hearing with Chopra last week, Scott indicated that while several of the agencies agreed to his request, the CFPB did not.

In recent weeks, the CFPB has been busy. The bureau has issued its long-awaited and controversial final rule governing overdrafts. On December 17, the day after the House committee leaders sent their letter, the CFPB issued a final rule that applies certain existing residential mortgage protections to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. In the 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, Congress directed the CFPB to prescribe ability to repay rules under the Truth in Lending Act/Regulation Z for PACE financings. The bureau also has issued proposed rules and taken enforcement actions.