WASHINGTON — A détente between Republicans and Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee appears to be over.
During a meeting of the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday, committee chair Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., exchanged barbs over the bills up for debate at the committee's second markup of the year.
"I'd love to say that I appreciated how well Mr. McHenry's and my staff worked together, but shortly after we came to an agreement on a list of bills for this markup, the Chair went back on his word," Waters said. "I had hoped that our Committee could rise above the partisanship of the House, but I understand that the Chair is beholden to his leadership at the end of the day."
She continued later: "I say to the Chairman, before I yield back: while you talk a good game about bipartisanship and you keep telling the public how well we're doing — you're not doing that well, because you are absolutely going back on commitments that were made."
"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the theater?" McHenry quipped back.
At the center of the issue is a raft of bills from Republican lawmakers that aim to put the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under more congressional oversight.
The most prominent of these,
The issue could become more urgent depending on the outcome of a
"After a decade, we are still nowhere closer to bridging the deep ideological chasm over the Bureau," he said. "If the Supreme Court forces Congressional action, the legislative bid-ask spread between Democrats and Republicans will be extremely wide."
Barr's bill passed through committee late Wednesday evening. It now goes to the full House for consideration.
House Republicans also passed several other bills through the committee, including two sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., which would establish a five-person commission appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for the bureau, and place an independent Inspector General at the CFPB — the Bureau and Federal Reserve currently share an Inspector General. The panel passed one final CFPB bill — one sponsored by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.V. — which would require the CFPB to justify the direct and indirect costs and benefits of any rulemaking.
While these bills aren't likely to be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate, they're still powerful messaging tools and serve to further Republicans'
Industry groups immediately cheered the advancement of the bills.
"America's leading banks fully believe in the need for a responsible regulator to ensure the highest levels of consumer protection across the financial services marketplace," said the Consumer Bankers Association in a statement. "But for the Bureau to function beyond reproach, reform is needed. CBA applauds Members of the House Financial Services Committee for taking an important step towards ensuring the Bureau fulfills its responsibility of protecting consumers and supporting a competitive financial services marketplace for years to come."
