Members from the House and Senate have attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Rohit Chopra has been subjected to several notable Congressional grillings.

Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) takes Mr. Chopra to task over fees charged by the CFPB.

Rep. Wagner, who earlier claimed that the CFPB encourages people to accumulate debt and pay late, attacked Chopra about the fees charged by the CFPB.

The CFPB charges a FOIA fee. If a professional staff is searching for information, the fee is $23 every 15 minutes or $92 per hour. This fee may be set up by the Office of Management and Budget. This is similar to your junk fee. It’s also similar to the concept of your junk fee.

Chopra replied in part.

I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Rep. Wagner’s opportunity to ask Mr. Chopra questions had passed before this issue was explored. It appears, however, that if CFPB is going to charge fees, then they have to do it for all requests, or not at all. It is a matter of policy and the concern is that government employees are treated equally. It would be interesting to see if the CFPB and Mr. Chopra were pressed on this.

At one point, the inestimable John Kennedy charged that the Bureau had engaged in illegal conduct.

John Kennedy Tells Chief Biden Regulator Point Blank That His Agency Is ‘Operating Illegally’ pic.twitter.com/RoWVgwvcK7

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 12, 2024

Kennedy said that the Federal Reserve earned money for many years, but it stopped earning in September 2022. The Federal Reserve does not transfer earnings to the General Fund. The Supreme Court ruled that the funding scheme is constitutional because it is based on the Appropriations clause. He said that these earnings would have been transferred to the General Fund by the Federal Reserve. Getting them directly from the General Fund is no big deal.

The Supreme Court ruled in May that the unconventional way the CFPB received funding was constitutional. According to Justice Samuel Alito, this ruling could create a precedent that federal agencies can “fund their agenda” without the oversight of Congress.

Kennedy asked, “How could you be entitled to money now? The Federal Reserve has zero earnings.”

The CFPB is not operating within the law, according to Senator Kennedy’s statement that “Dallas is bigger than the CFPB”.

Chopra responded, “You’re referring to the differences between net income (or revenue) and tax. This issue is covered in many other laws. ”

Chopra denied that the Federal Reserve has not earned money since September 2022.

Kennedy said, “You have been working illegally. I know you don’t like to hear this but it’s the truth.”

This is done to discourage Freedom of Information Act requests. It’s only possible because it serves to discourage Freedom of Information Act requests. In addition, the Bureau operates in a way that may be deemed to violate the law that determines its funding source.

What are the results of these congressional grillings? Not much. You might think that an agency or program would survive the heat death and return to frustrate taxpayers and information seekers in the next universe.

The sessions are worth attending. Although the CFPB was not created by the Constitution and therefore should not exist, it is unlikely that the agency will be abolished. Affecting the comfortable is worth the effort. Senator Kennedy and Representative Wagner excel at it.