US Democrats Say GOP Using Discrimination Issue to Weaken Consumer Bureau

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have accused Republicans of using allegations of discrimination to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Hill reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The CFPB is a US agency responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector, with banks, securities companies and credit unions among the institutions falling under its remit.

On Thursday, the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on cases of racism, sexism and ageism in the CFPB.

On Thursday, the Hill reported that the panel’s chair, Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, had said that the CFPB has a higher rate of racial discrimination than other US government agencies and the CFPB leadership is doing very little to address the problem.

Maxine Waters, a Democrat, in return accused Republicans of only raising the issue of alleged racial discrimination at the CFPB as part of their general opposition to the agency since it was created in 2011.

"Discrimination issues — at least on this side of the aisle — are taken seriously…. [But] this is a political fight inside the committee," Waters said.

The establishment of the CFPB was a provision of the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, adopted in response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the subsequent recession.