WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement today regarding this morning’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court ruled the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unconstitutional:

“Today’s decision is a step in the right direction and validates that the CFPB’s current structure is unconstitutional and unaccountable to the public. For years, the CFPB has threatened private businesses while enacting harmful and ill-advised regulations with little transparency or accountability.

 “The court’s ruling only reinforces the need for my legislation, the Consumer Financial Protection Board Act, which would transition the agency from a single director to a bipartisan five-member board of directors. This bill would increase transparency and deliver the accountability that the court determined is currently missing at the agency.”

This morning’s 2-1 decision by the Court of Appeals ruled that the structure of the CFPB is unconstitutional, citing in part how the bureau functions under a single director instead of a multi-member board.

Senator Fischer introduced the Consumer Financial Protection Board Act in July 2016. The bill would replace the Director of the CFPB with a bipartisan board of five individuals. Each board member would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Fischer’s bill is cosponsored by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.).

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