By: Steve Forbes, Forbes CEO
The Supreme Court will soon be deciding a critical case, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) v. Community Financial Services Association of America, that gets to the heart of the Constitution and the accountability of government agencies. Is it possible that the unaccountable, out-of-control CFPB will finally get its wings clipped?
On its website the CFPB describes itself as “a 21st century agency that implements and enforces Federal consumer financial law and ensures that markets for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and competitive.” The agency is made up of unelected regulators who answer to no one and do considerable damage to consumers and to the lenders who serve them. Most astoundingly, it is not funded by Congress. Instead, it gets its money directly from the Federal Reserve, which, in turn, has the unbridled power to print money, including all the cash it wants for its own operations. It isn’t funded by Congress, either.
The bottom line: The CFPB has no need to answer to Congress. This is a constitutional abomination. The Founders specifically wanted Congress to have “the power of the purse,” to make government accountable to the people.
In this case, the arrangement doubly insulates the CFPB from congressional oversight. The agency director receives a transfer from the Fed for whatever amount he deems to be “reasonably necessary.” It’s the ultimate ATM.