U.S. Rep. Keith Self has introduced legislation to reduce the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) statutory funding cap to $0, effectively eliminating the agency by cutting off its financial resources.
This legislation aligns with the Byrd Rule in the Senate, ensuring it is eligible for inclusion in a budget reconciliation package, which requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate. The reconciliation package is seen as critical to President Donald Trump’s “DOGE” agenda in cutting inefficiency in government.
The CFPB, established in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, currently draws its funding directly from the Federal Reserve, bypassing Congress’s power of the purse. Congressman Self’s legislation would end this practice by setting the statutory funding cap at $0, requiring the CFPB to seek appropriations from Congress if it wishes to continue its operations.
As an independent agency, the CFPB has been criticized for wielding unchecked power over the financial services industry. Its regulations are often seen as stifling innovation, negatively impacting small businesses, and increasing consumer costs.
“The CFPB has long operated as an unaccountable and burdensome agency that has stifled economic growth through regulatory overreach,” said Self. “By eliminating its funding entirely, we are taking a principled stand for transparency and accountability, while restoring power to the American people and their elected representatives. This bill ensures taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for an agency that operates beyond the scope of constitutional checks and balances.”
Self noted that bill’s compliance with the Byrd Rule, which restricts provisions in reconciliation bills to budget-related measures, makes it uniquely positioned for passage through the budget reconciliation process. This procedural strategy ensures the bill can avoid the 60-vote threshold typically required in the Senate.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is leading the companion legislation in the Senate, emphasizing that a large number of conservatives are committed to holding unaccountable federal agencies in check.
“The CFPB is an unelected, unaccountable bureaucratic agency that has imposed burdensome and harmful regulations on American businesses, banks, and credit unions,” said Cruz. “It is an unchecked Obama-era executive arm and the Federal Reserve should not be transferring funds to it. Enacting this legislation would save American taxpayers billions of dollars and I call on the Senate to expeditiously take it up and pass it.”