U.S. Supreme Court Determines CFPB Funding Structure Is Constitutional

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America ruled in a 7-2 decision that the current funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is constitutional. There were specifically two trade groups challenging the structure of the CFPB funding. Those two trade groups claimed that the CFPB funding structure violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution. The CFPB is funded from Federal Reserve profits, and it is not funded based on an annual appropriation like other federal agencies. The court provided that Congress’ authorization for the CFPB to be funded by the Federal Reserve does not violate the Appropriations Clause. SCOTUS held that “Congress’ statutory authorization allowing the Bureau to draw money from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System to carry out the Bureau’s duties satisfies the Appropriations Clause.” 

To learn more about the ruling, please see the full SCOTUS opinion.