{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-scott-presses-director-of-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-on-oppressive-financial-policy-attack-on-free-markets/", "Ranking Member Scott Presses Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Oppressive Financial Policy, Attack on Free Markets", "2023-11-30", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Tim Scott", "S001184", "www.scott.senate.gov", "timscott", "https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/jsf/jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "At today\u2019s Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) held the CFPB accountable for its abuse of enforcement powers and rulemakings driven by politics instead of policy, all of which continue to stifle innovation and harm American families and small businesses. In his opening statement, Ranking Member Scott noted that despite members calling on Chopra to reverse course, the agency has continued to abuse its authorities and propose regulations that reduce access to credit, limit consumer choice, and discourage financial responsibility.\n\nRanking Member Scott concluded by reminding Director Chopra of his responsibility \u2013 as a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board \u2013 to ensure all FDIC employees are treated with dignity and respect in light of recent reports of a toxic work culture at the FDIC.\n\nRanking Member Scott\u2019s opening remarks as delivered:\n\nThank you, let me start off by saying, it\u2019s certainly good to be back with the committee. I want to thank my members, fellow members, for their support, specifically in particular Senator Rounds for all of his support during my absence.\n\nI would also like to welcome our newest member, Senator Butler to the committee.\n\nNow turning back to business, just two weeks ago, our financial regulators testified before this committee and faced bipartisan concerns about the impact on everyday American families that these misguided and partisan regulatory proposals would have if implemented as proposed.\n\nWhile those \u201cindependent\u201d regulators have become increasingly politicized under the Biden administration, the CFPB has a much longer history of skirting statutory mandates and avoiding congressional oversight.\n\nDirector Chopra, you know these concerns well and you\u2019ve heard from me about those concerns, you\u2019ve heard from my fellow members of the committee, as well as House colleagues.\n\nAnd yet, the CFPB is no more accountable today than it was at its inception \u2013 and I fear under your leadership, the agency is straying even further from its mandated mission.\n\nThe abuse of enforcement powers, rulemakings driven by politics instead of policy, and a lack of oversight \u2013 which only leads to less economic opportunity \u2013 have become hallmarks under your leadership.\n\nThe law is clear. When it comes to consumer finance, the CFPB should consistently and fairly enforce federal consumer finance law; safeguard access to markets for consumer financial products and services; and ensure that such markets are fair, transparent, and competitive.\n\nSadly, the CFPB\u2019s actions don\u2019t match up with its mandate.\n\nUnder your leadership, the CFPB has operated in blind pursuit of additional power and has become the hallmark of government overreach \u2013 to the point where I am concerned the Bureau is doing more harm to consumers than good.\n\nThat is why in July, I led a bicameral group of 132 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, urging the Court to affirm the lower court\u2019s decision that the CFPB\u2019s funding structure is constitutionally defective.\n\nWhen you last testified before us in June, we discussed your efforts to regulate through speeches and blog posts, your public pressure campaign on fee income, and your attempts to stifle innovation.\n\nInstead of correcting course, it seems that you have only accelerated towards the exact opposite direction of your statutory mission.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.scott.senate.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-scott-presses-director-of-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-on-oppressive-financial-policy-attack-on-free-markets/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2775738723576069, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}