Comments in Response to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection: Request for Information Regarding Bureau Guidance and Implementation Support
July 2, 2018
Re: Request for Information Regarding Bureau Guidance and Implementation Support, Docket No. CFPB-2018-0013
NCLA sincerely appreciates this opportunity to provide commentary on the Bureau’s past use of guidance and its invitation for suggestions as to how it can ensure that its future guidance adheres to law. Unfortunately, the Bureau’s past use of guidance has been marked by unlawful practices that undermine representative government and the due process of law. Instead of merely explaining existing legal duties, the Bureau has attempted to impose new or additional legal duties
through informal guidance. The Bureau has also threatened aggressive enforcement efforts for perceived noncompliance with these informal modes of regulation. The Bureau has thereby exercised powers that were never given to it in the first place.