by Jeff Sovern

Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee released a press release that said in part:

Today, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Republican colleagues will file a Congressional Review Act (CRA) Joint Resolution of Disapproval in the Senate against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) arbitration rule.

“Members of Congress previously expressed concerns with the proposed version of the rulemaking – concerns that were not addressed in the final rule,” said Chairman Crapo. “The rule is based on a flawed study that leading scholars have criticized as biased and inadequate, noting that it could leave consumers worse off by removing access to an important dispute resolution tool. * * *

Actually, the CFPB rule does not remove access to a dispute resolution tool. Consumers will still be able to use arbitration to resolve disputes. But ignoring that, who are the "leading scholars"? My guess is it's Jason Scott Johnston of Virginia and Todd J. Zywicki of George Mason who have written The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Arbitration Study: A Summary and Critique. I wrote about what I see as serious flaws in an aspect of their paper here.   (HT: Adam Zimmerman)