It’s not the biggest issue at the CFPB, but I really miss the old days of transparency. It’s hard to have any accountability if you don’t know what’s going on–or these days, not going on. This week, for the first time since he took over, Acting CFPB Director Vought will testify before Congress about the so-called semi-annual CFPB report. I say so-called because as far as I can tell, the Bureau hasn’t been issuing that report anything close to semi-annually. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the director to testify about the Bureau at least every six months before Congress, something that hasn’t happened since Rohit Chopra was the CFPB director. I hope the members of Congress take Vought to task for disregarding his legal obligations on transparency and accountability. I also hope that during nominee Brian Johnson’s confirmation hearings, members of Congress extract a commitment to live up to the Bureau’s statutory obligations. For all the criticism we heard during former Director Cordray’s CFPB tenure for the CFPB’s lack of accountability, Cordray not only testified often before Congress, he also held frequent field hearings around the country during which Bureau officials updated the public about the Bureau’s activities and also heard statements from industry advocates, consumer advocates, and members of the public in attendance. I hope a member of Congress obtains a commitment from nominee Johnson to resume that practice. I bet we could hold a field hearing at the University of Maryland Carey Law School and the folks at the CFPB wouldn’t even have to get on a plane to show up.
