Ron Paul on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s nomination of Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an unaccountable, unconstitutional, and unnecessary bureaucracy that imposes unreasonable burdens on small banks and credit unions, thus increasing consolidation in the financial services industry to the detriment of consumers. This also increases the likelihood of another big bank bailout when the Federal Reserve-created recession (or worse) occurs.

Acting Director Mick Mulvaney – who fought to shut down the CFPB while in Congress — is to be credited for trying to reduce the damage the CFPB does by focusing it on closing out existing cases—some of which date from the time of the housing meltdown a decade ago—instead of trying to find new ways to expand the agency’s power. Hopefully, Kathy Kraninger, President Trump’s choice as permanent head of the CFPB, who has worked under Mr. Mulvaney at OMB, will continue to ease the regulatory burdens placed on consumers and small business by this misnamed agency.

The increased use of tools like specialty services to help struggling homeowners shows the market can solve problems in the home market if the government gets out of the way. Congress should pass, and President Trump should sign, legislation dismantling the CFPB, and repealing Dodd-Frank, the Community Reinvestment Act, and all federal laws that distort the housing and financial services markets to the benefit of big banks and Wall Street special interests, while encouraging Americans to buy homes they simply cannot afford.

If the votes are not there to shut down the CFPB, then they should at least require the agency to receive funds through the regular Congressional appropriations process, instead of through Federal Reserve-controlled slush funds. The current system was designed to insulate the CFPB from accountability to the people’s elected representatives. Congress should also pass the Audit the Fed legislation, so the people can finally learn the truth about the Federal Reserve’s conduct of monetary policy, which is responsible for the boom-and-bust cycle that plagues our economy.