Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, reintroduced the CFPB Pay Fairness Act, which would require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to pay its employees according to the same standards that apply to other federal employees. This bill proposes an amendment to the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.

“The CFPB’s convoluted funding scheme gives them an unfair pay advantage over other agencies. That’s a waste of taxpayer money, and it needs to stop,” Kennedy said. “My bill would put CFPB salaries on equal footing with the rest of the government and end the accounting trick that let them avoid the standard federal pay scale.” 

The CFPB’s funding mechanism operates outside the regular congressional oversight process, allowing many employees to receive salaries comparable to members of Congress and cabinet secretaries, he said. The CFPB Pay Fairness Act would give the CFPB 90 days to bring its employee salaries in line with the general schedule pay scale for federal employees.