is more than Four months The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the process of introducing rules requiring financial service providers to provide more personally identifiable information to loan applicants after learning that the agency itself leaked the data of more than 250,000 consumers.
Republicans are pushing back, but some of their proposals to curb the CFPB are unlikely to succeed.
According to Senator John Kennedy, under the CFPB’s new rules, “financial institutions must collect information about applicants, including information such as the applicant’s census tract, the North American Industry Classification System, and years in business.” In addition, banks must report the owner’s race, ethnicity, and gender. And whether the business is minority-owned, women-owned, or LGBT-owned. ” (Related: Taylor Millard: This agency is about to smack your business in the scarlet letter)
The rule applies to financial services providers who have originated 100 or more small business loans each in the last two calendar years, and small businesses are defined as those with revenues of $5 million or less in the previous fiscal year, Kennedy said.
The rule is new after the personal identification data of 256,000 consumers was fraudulently leaked by a former CFPB official in early 2023, and was shrouded in secrecy for about two months afterward. Republicans in Congress have thus far understood that the CFPB is asking financial service providers that do business with consumers to notify consumers of the breach, not the leaking company.
The responsible employee was apparently subsequently fired, but there is no news that the agency has filed criminal charges against the employee. When questioned by Congress earlier this month, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra sidestepped how long it took his agency to contact the companies involved in the breach. House Republicans have suggested it took more than 72 hours for businesses and consumers to learn about the leak.
in the aftermath, Kennedy I am calling for the withdrawal of the new rules. Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Byron Donald Complete elimination of CFPB.
Cruz has previously introduced legislation to do this, but Donald’s agreement to sponsor the bill in the House of Representatives is understood to have been facilitated by leaks and the CFPB’s poor response. Cruz and Donald’s proposal has zero chance of passing Congress now. Kennedy’s bill is unlikely to withstand Senate Democrat opposition and filibuster.
A House proposal to put the CFPB under the normal spending process might have a better chance, but for now, surveillance appears to be the best option to keep the CFPB in check. Senator Tim Scott, a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, has been eyeing the bureau, especially since he is in the media spotlight as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
During a recent surveillance hearing where Chopra testified, Scott criticized the data breach and the cynicism of the CFPB in trying to collect more consumer data in light of its mishandling.scott told chopra“Under your leadership, the CFPB learned of a massive data breach that affected more than 250,000 consumers in its own backyard. At the same time, the CFPB was finalizing a rule requiring financiers to collect and report to the CFPB vast amounts of small business lending data on credit products, including personally identifiable information such as race, gender and ethnicity.
A spokesperson for Scott, who has a position as a member of the rankings, recently confirmed that Scott does not intend to drop the case anytime soon, saying, “This is continuing pressure from members of the rankings on Chopra, especially as the CFPB, under her leadership, pushes for new rules seeking more data from American consumers.” If the CFPB can’t protect the data it currently holds, why should an American trust the CFPB to provide more data?”
Real Clear Politics Nationwide Vote Average show Scott won about 3.5% of the Republican primary vote.But the American Greatness/National Research poll implementation On June 12-14, 2023, New Hampshire’s civil liberties-focused “Live Free or Die” showed Scott’s performance, with 7% scoring 6 points in a month, a significant increase over other candidates in the field and contrasting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 6-point drop.
DeSantis may have won praise from conservatives across the country for his campaign against “Wake,” but his involvement in the First Amendment issue may not sell to libertarian-minded Granite voters — whereas Scott’s criticism of the CFPB may.
Of course, virtually every Republican would hope the Supreme Court would soon announce a ruling declaring the entire CFPB organization unconstitutional, and it could happen soon, but even if it didn’t, the data breach wouldn’t stay out of the spotlight. Scott promises that it won’t happen.
Taylor Millard is a freelance journalist and can be found on Twitter @taylormillard. His work has been published in The Spectator, Washington Examiner magazine, The Daily Beast, InsideSources and HotAir.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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