Date: 2011-07-21
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

My friends are back again. those that we have a great deal of respect for. And I am reminded of my colleague. Congressman CUMMINGS. who mentioned the enormous amount of foreclosures that our military families experience. Maybe were not clear on what our new board really does. the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Let me make it clear. It makes prices clear. it makes terms and conditions clear. it ensures that mortgage disclosures are short. relevant. and understandable by consumers and lenders and military families. it lets consumers shop for the best product of that price. and it helps consumers understand the true cost of a financial transaction. It acts like a cop on the beat for our consumers. The Financial Stability Oversight Board has its roleto review the actions. But let me tell you what this bill has just done. In the DoddFrank bill. it has been a defined time schedule for the review to take place. So if you are. in essence. hanging with a bad foreclosure or some bad actions. this oversight board can review quickly the decision that the consumer board did to protect you. But you know what has happened now? They have given the oversight board an indefinite amount of time. This is in the backdrop of undergraduates carrying recordhigh credit card balances. $3.173. What my amendment doesit restores reality. It restores a definitive time. a time certain that the oversight board can review the regulation that has given you relief so that you can benefit from the consumer protection. Is that not a simple premise? I ask my colleagues to accept this amendment. Mr. Chair. I rise today in support of my amendment. number #3 to H.R. 1315. the Consumer Financial Protections and Safety Act. My amendment will improve certainty with respect to Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) regulations by restoring current time limits in which the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) must review and act on a petition to overrule a CFPB regulation. and restores a provision allowing a petition to expire if the FSOC fails to act within 45 days of the filing of the petition or upon expiration of a temporary stay. Under my amendment the FSOC chair may stay the effectiveness of a regulation at the request of a single FSOC member for 90 days. If the FSOC chair does not stay the rule. the FSOC must vote within 45 days of the date the petition is filed. If the FSOC stays the rule. the vote must be taken before the stay elapses. If a vote is not taken within these time frames. the petition is deemed to have been dismissed. This is a basic and reasoned approach to ensure that rules issued by the CFPB are reviewed in a timely fashion by the FSOC and will not result in an endless delay and an endless issuance of stays which would thereby render any CFPB rule ineffective. Providing the FSOC with unlimited time to review CFPB regulations is yet another way in which this legislation undermines the authority of the CFPB and the necessity for consumer protection standards. CFPB regulations enacted by the bureau are designed to protect the average consumer from fraud and abuse. and prevent financial institutions from employing unfair practices. This legislation would allow the Financial Stability Oversight Council to review regulatory measures passed by the CFPB without any time constraints. Under H.R. 1315. the FSOC can avoid making decisions. suspending CFPB regulations in the process. providing the FSOC with a method to circumvent the authority of the CFPB without being held accountable. A strong and independent CFPB is the only way to ensure that the best interest of the consumer is protected. This bureau was designed to increase transparency and equality in mortgage practices. credit card procedures and other consumer services. The collapse of the housing market in 2008. and the financial crisis that followed proved how intertwined our financial system is. When securities collapse. due to failing mortgages. credit becomes scarce and companies lay employees off. Losing a job and prolonged unemployment can lead to the loss of ones home. In order to truly safeguard against the irresponsible practices that led to the financial crisis of 2008. we need an agency. such as the CFPB. to ensure that consumers are protected. It will protect consumers like Charles. who was forced to seek a loan from a small. private lending company he had never heard of. The company required a cosigner for the loan. and stipulated the cosigner had assets worth far more than the loan. When Charles defaulted on the loan. the company went after his cosigner and his assets from the successful small business he owned. Despite efforts to modify the loan based on Charles unexpected economic circumstances. the lender targeted his cosigner. resulting in devastating effects to his credit rating. The predatory loan company went as far as to assign Charles a new loan to cover his debt. using the same cosigner. despite knowing that Charles had no way to pay either of the loans. effectively ruining the credit of both Charles and his cosigner. If the FSOC is able to indefinitely delay the implementation of CFPB rulings. it greatly reduces the effectiveness of the bureau. and weakens the DoddFrank mechanism for consumer protection. We need this Bureau to safeguard the interests of consumers like George. a disabled veteran from Texas. whose doctor helped him apply for loan discharge. under the Disability Act. A 100% disabled veteran. extenuating circumstances caused George to default on his loan. regardless. his request for loan discharge was denied. As a result of being denied a discharge. George. a registered nurse was not able to renew his nursing license. Which left George without a nursing license and thereby without a license he lost his ability to maintain a nursing position. A job as a nurse would have allowed George to have an income in order to pay back the loan. George found himself in a viscous cycle. George. a man who has honorably served his nation. A man who was wounded in battle . . . that George now a man who cannot pay his loan. cannot attain a license. and cannot find a high paying position. If George was educated on the consequences of taking out a loan . . . he might have made a different choice. The Bureau gives financial consumers a frame of reference before agreeing to often confusing and convoluted loan schemes.