Pelosi Statement on Amicus Brief in PHH Corp. v. the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

November 29, 2016

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives shepherded the Dodd-Frank Act into enactment, issued the following statement today on an amicus brief filed on Tuesday with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. The amicus brief supports the government's position that an en banc panel of the DC Circuit rehear the PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) case in which a divided three-judge panel last month found the CFPB's leadership structure unconstitutional and severed the provision that made the Director of the CFPB removable only for cause:

"The landmark Dodd-Frank Act offered working families the strongest financial consumer protections in American history. The CFPB, an independent watchdog agency formed from this law, has carried out Congress' mandate to protect consumers against the unfair, deceptive and abusive financial marketplace practices that led to the 2008 financial crisis. In its short history, the CFPB has provided more than $5.3 billion in restitution for more than 15 million consumers and servicemembers harmed by violations of financial consumer protection laws.

"Congress carefully designed the CFPB to elevate the interests of consumers above those of a well-heeled industry and provided for a single director removable for cause to ensure accountability and effectiveness. As the brief states, the DC Circuit should rehear this case en banc because last month's decision by the DC Circuit panel was inconsistent with the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent. Under the Constitution, Congress has considerable latitude to shape the structure of independent agencies.

"We cannot allow financial interests to again offer abusive and predatory loans to consumers and precipitate another financial crisis. House Democrats remain unyielding in our commitment to protect consumers, restore accountability and transparency to our financial markets and build an economy that works for all, not just the privileged few."