Mulvaney Moves To Further Restrict CFPB

What’s the story?

• Mick Mulvaney, head of both the Office of Management and Budget and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), spoke in front of the American Bankers Association Tuesday. In his speech he outlined further restrictions on what the CFPB offers, and spoke frankly about how he exchanged access for money as a South Carolina congressman.
• Mulvaney, the Wall Street Journal reports, announced to applause his intention to eliminate public access to a complaint database on financial institutions, “I don’t see anything in here [the Dodd-Frank law] that says I have to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government.”
• The reference to Yelp echoes concerns by financial institutions that the consumer complaints in the database are “unverified”. The CFPB does verify that the consumer did business with the financial institution, but does not vet their story. The database has received 1.5 million customer complaints since 2011.
• Mulvaney also plans to “rebrand” the agency by using its formal name, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, with the intent of diminishing the agency’s public profile, reports the New York Times.
• His comments raising the most eyebrows, however, concerned how bankers can encourage lawmakers to pursue the policies they seek by paying for access. Mulvaney noted that, as a congressman, he would always meet with constituents, but he would only meet with lobbyists if he knew they had contributed to his campaign:

“We had a hierarchy in my office, in Congress...If you were a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you were a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”

What do you think?

What do you make of Mulvaney’s plans and comments? Do you support his efforts to restrict and rebrand the CFPB? What do you think of his “pay to play” advice to bankers? Was he advocating for a system of influence that privileges the powerful, or was he simply explaining the reality of how to access lawmakers to weigh in on policy?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)