Dismissing responsibility

23 April 2013 By Daniel Indiviglio

Jeb Hensarling, head of the U.S. House finance committee, has shunned the new consumer bureau’s chief. He complains Obama appointed Richard Cordray without congressional consent. The lawmaker would better serve finance, and democracy, by making his case with tough questions.

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U.S. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling said on April 22 that he will not allow Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray to give a semi-annual report to the chamber. President Barack Obama used a recess appointment, which sidesteps congressional approval, to put the agency head in place last year. Hensarling says that Cordray’s appointment is invalid because an appeals court in January nixed a few National Labor Relations Board members that the president appointed in the same way. Although the ruling did not apply to the financial watchdog’s head, he faces a similar court challenge.
Cordray provided his semi-annual testimony to the Senate on April 23.
A president deciding to sidestep Congress by putting a nominee in place is not uncommon and has been used many times in the past. In this case, the decision was particularly controversial because Cordray is the first director of the new bureau, created by 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act. Without a chief in place, the regulator was unable to carry out some of its duties, like supervising non-bank financial companies.

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