The ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said Wednesday she will sponsor legislation next year to exempt credit unions from many CFPB rules.
“I want you to have everything you need,” Waters said at the final day of NAFCU’s Congressional Caucus.
Waters said that a huge number of members of Congress have asked CFPB Director Richard Cordray to exempt credit unions from many rules, but that he has said he cannot do that under federal law.
If that’s the case, Waters said, she will introduce legislation to do it.
Waters also assured credit unions that their tax exemption is sacred and will not be repealed during any tax reform efforts.
“We’re never going to do that,” she said. “That’s never going to happen.”
She added, “That’s like motherhood and apple pie and we’re never going to take away motherhood and apple pie.”
Another Democratic member of the committee, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said she too would support efforts to exempt credit unions from many CFPB rules.
Beatty called on Congress to try to improve Dodd-Frank and not repeal it as many Republicans would like.
“Dodd-Frank is not perfect but we don’t have to throw the baby out with the bath water,” she said.
Beatty’s comments come a day after the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the scandal at Wells Fargo Bank, where employees created two million fake accounts in order to meet quota targets.
During that hearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Wells Fargo offials to be fired and prosecuted.
While some Democrats have pointed at the discovery of the Wells Fargo crisis as a success of Dodd-Frank, one Republican saw it as a failure.
Echoing the sentiments of several speakers, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said that Dodd-Frank has failed miserably.
“There were a lot of promises made by supporters of Dodd-Frank,” he said. “Six years later, one of those promises have been kept.” He also said the Wells Fargo debacle does not demonstrate the success of the CFPB.
“Consumer protection didn’t protect us from Wells Fargo,” Barr said, adding that the agency took too long to take action. “They are asleep at the wheel,” he said.
He said that the agency has not been focused on consumer protection, but instead, has concentrated on determining what products financial institutions should offer.
Another Democratic member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) criticized policymakers for their rigidity and their failure to be realistic in tackling issues.
“We kept reaching high and [as a result] we got nothing,” he said.
Instead, members should have focused on compromising and enacting legislation that actually could become law.
