regulations – Page 6

“Expropriating billions of dollars from American businesses is injurious and capricious. Citizens of the E.U. benefit from the American technology sector; siphoning capital from U.S. tech firms leaves them with less to commit to research and development, stymieing further innovation. The E.U. should stop penalizing American firms that outcompete their European counterparts.”

https://reason.com/2025/03/23/the-european-commission-is-assaulting-american-industry/

There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk | The Ezra Klein Show

Posted on April 21, 2025April 21, 2025 by Lone Candle

There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk | The Ezra Klein Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwjxVRfUV_4

Elizabeth Warren’s Hubris Allowed Trump To Defund the CFPB

Posted on April 12, 2025April 12, 2025 by Lone Candle

“Unlike every other department and agency within the federal government, the CFPB is not funded via congressional appropriations. Instead, its funding flows directly from the Federal Reserve. Each year, the White House submits a budget to the Federal Reserve, and the central bank hands over the necessary amount—$729.4 million last year, in case you were wondering.

For a long time after the CFPB was created in 2010, there were serious questions about the constitutionality of that structure. That finally got resolved last year, when the Supreme Court ruled that Congress was within its powers to hand off the purse strings. So, funding the CFPB via the Federal Reserve is not unconstitutional—it’s just unorthodox and foolish.

Here’s where the hubris enters the story. When Warren and Obama created the CFPB, they designed that unorthodox funding structure specifically to prevent a future Republican-led Congress from trying to defund the bureau. Remember, this was in the age when Republicans were running around the country telling voters they intended to repeal Obamacare too. By isolating the CFPB from Congress’ budgetary powers, Warren was trying to make it invulnerable to attack.

Instead, she simply gave it a fatal flaw.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration submitted its CFPB funding request to the Federal Reserve. It asked for…$0.

“Pursuant to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, I have notified the Federal Reserve that CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not ‘reasonably necessary’ to carry out its duties,” wrote Russ Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), wrote on X on Saturday night. “The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 million is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment. This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off.”

That appears to be the end of the CFPB, at least until a Democrat returns to the White House. Trump will need an act of Congress if he seriously wants to abolish the Department of Education, for example, and even minor spending cuts being made across the executive branch will eventually need congressional or legal consent to be permanent. But there should be no serious questions about whether the president can unilaterally defund the CFBP. Congress has no role to play in that fight.”

https://reason.com/2025/02/13/elizabeth-warrens-hubris-allowed-trump-to-defund-the-cfpb/

Senate votes to overturn CFPB overdraft rule, in new blow for agency

Posted on March 31, 2025March 31, 2025 by Lone Candle

“The Senate voted 52-48..to overturn a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule capping the overdraft fees that banks can charge, in another blow to the beleaguered agency.
The resolution under the Congressional Review Act now heads to the House, where the Financial Services Committee approved a companion bill on a 30-19 vote earlier this month. CRAs both invalidate regulations and preclude future administrations from introducing “substantially similar” proposals.”

…

“The Biden administration finalized the overdraft rule — part of its campaign against so-called junk fees — in December, to the chagrin of Republicans who had asked financial regulators to pause rulemaking after the election until the new administration was sworn in. Banks, which say the rule would limit their ability to offer overdraft coverage, fiercely opposed the regulation and sued to stop it hours after it was finalized.”

…

“Under the rule crafted by former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets would have three options when a consumer overdraws their account: charging $5; charging a fee that covers no more than costs or losses; or disclosing the terms of a profit-generating overdraft loan as they would with other loans.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the lone Republican to vote against overturning the rule, said the regulation would “save the average working class household something like $265 a year.”

“I do not want to give big banks the ability to charge people outrageous sums of money,” Hawley said. “Under this… they can charge whatever their expenses are on an overdraft, and if that’s more than $5 per overdraft, they’re allowed to charge that, but they’re not allowed to charge anything more.”

Banks currently charge an average fee of $35 to extend overdraft services. The CFPB estimated the rule would save consumers $5 billion in fees per year.”

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/03/27/congress/senate-overturn-cfpb-overdraft-rule-00251896