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32 Senators Want To Know If US Regulators Halted Equifax Probe (engadget.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: Earlier this week, a Reuters report suggested that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had halted its investigation into last year's massive Equifax data breach. Reuters sources said that even basic steps expected in such a probe hadn't been taken and efforts had stalled since Mick Mulvaney took over as head of the CFPB late last year. Now, 31 Democratic senators and one Independent have written a letter to Mulvaney asking if that is indeed the case and if so, why.
In their letter, the senators expressed their concern over these reports and reiterated the duty the CFPB has to not only investigate the breach but to bring action against Equifax if deemed necessary. "Consumer reporting agencies and the data they collect play a central role in consumers' access to credit and the fair and competitive pricing of that credit," they wrote. "Therefore, the CFPB has a duty to supervise consumer reporting agencies, investigate how this breach has or will harm consumers and bring enforcement actions as necessary."
In their letter, the senators expressed their concern over these reports and reiterated the duty the CFPB has to not only investigate the breach but to bring action against Equifax if deemed necessary. "Consumer reporting agencies and the data they collect play a central role in consumers' access to credit and the fair and competitive pricing of that credit," they wrote. "Therefore, the CFPB has a duty to supervise consumer reporting agencies, investigate how this breach has or will harm consumers and bring enforcement actions as necessary."
Trump blocked the inquiry into the worst data breach ever, and he committed treason with the Russians. Basically he is a bad guy and his supporters are retards.
Well quitting time. Anyone wanna hit the strip club?
They want some money! Give us some money!
Seriously. Why are these Senators bothering? It's not like he will give them a clear response. Any response, if he even provides one, will only serve to make up some bullshit reason why it was "unnecessary" rather than the real reason, which is that these guys believe fundamentally there's nothing wrong with cheating people and fucking people over.
So why waste time and write the letters? To just look like they are doing something useful?
I've seen more commercials for Equifax consumer products in the last six months than I have in the last six years. Enron wasn't pitching their retirement accounts while they were under investigation and Martha Stewart wasn't taking out Super Bowl ads to pitch her new holiday pots-and-pans collection while she was under investigation.
A real investigation of Equifax would keep Equifax's name in the news in a bad way, and Equifax wouldn't be pitching their credit monitoring apps on primetime TV if their name was associated with being under investigation.
So yes, it's abundantly clear that Equifax isn't getting the probing they deserve.
"Make me. Pbbbbbbbtttt!!!" [Sticks thumbs in ears and wiggles fingers]
Careful with your accent there, comrade.
CSBF's been busy protecting loan sharks, er payday lenders. http://www.latimes.com/busines... And now you want them to also find time to probe criminals at Equifax? Silly Rabbit! Just who do you think they really work for now?
You forgot the </s> tag.
FYI - Congress can use legislation to change (or even abolish) the bureau. Indeed, there’s currently legislation in both chambers to enshrine a variety of transparency standards, some of which passed the House Financial Services Committee with bipartisan backing. - The Senate must confirm the head of the bureau. - The board’s director must testify at least twice a year before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; the House Financial Services Committee; and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bureau must also submit semi-annual budget justifications. - The bureau is subject to an annual financial audit by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional agency. * Other experts in government regulation and oversight don’t go this far -- but they add that Fiorina’s characterization is an exaggeration.
Actually, I feel the tag should not be sarcasm, but rather astroturfer.
I could be wrong, but given the number of similar posts to this story it would take a bit of actual evidence to convince me.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
White House Down.
So what if the company gets a huge fine? It doesn't solve a damn thing. The people whose data was stolen don't get their security back nor do they get compensated in any way. IMHO, this is little more than an extortion racket being run by the government who inhales every dollar it can.
The bureau must also submit semi-annual budget justifications. - The bureau is subject to an annual financial audit by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional agency.
I wonder who approved the cost of the new CFPB headquarters, which are (is?) a Class A building. This article shows pictures of the interior, and states,
The $124 million spent to date for the 303,000 square foot office building is $409 per square foot, more than Trump World Tower, which cost $334 per square foot or Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel and Casino, priced at $330 per square foot.
It’s also double the $227.64 per square foot construction costs for “Class 1 – Best Quality” of masonry or concrete government buildings as reported in the 2018 National Building Cost Manual, the Bible for construction cost projections.
It makes sense.... since the Wolves are guarding the henhouse, they've adopted a pro-Wolf policy to the point of not even investigating the reported theft of 10 million chickens.
FYI - they have to actually pass the law first numbnuts.
Which doesn't change the fact that the Democrat majority with a Democrat president established a bureau with NO REGULATORY oversight. Sure they have to "justify" their budget but the congress doesn't fund them nor does congress have oversight over their regulatory decisions.
It was conceived and implemented as a partisan body and a partisan body it remains.
Sayeth the russian bot
The CFPB doesn't have a legal director, the guy wasn't confirmed and has massive conflicts of interest. Yes, he damn well does owe them an explanation as to why he's dropping the investigation. He accepted contributions from Equifax and is now dropping the investigation in spite of mountains of evidence that the crack was preventable.
The CFPB is not subject to congressional oversight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
"A 2013 press release from the United States House Financial Services Committee criticized the CFPB for what was described as a "radical structure" that "is controlled by a single individual who cannot be fired for poor performance and who exercises sole control over the agency, its hiring and its budget." Moreover, the committee alleged a lack of financial transparency and a lack of accountability to Congress or the President. Committee Vice Chairman Patrick McHenry, expressed particular concern about travel costs and a $55 million renovation of CFPB headquarters, stating "$55 million is more than the entire annual construction and acquisition budget for GSA for the totality of federal buildings."[71] In 2012, the majority of GSA's Federal Buildings Fund went to rental costs, totaling $5.2 billion. $50 million was budgeted for construction and acquisition of facilities.[72]"
Lol I wonder who it could be?
Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
keeps cropping up as a tired old, completely incorrect meme.
Absolute statements are never true
Honest question: when I drive my car way over the maximum speed on an empty road, why should I be punished for it ? I have not yet caused mayhem, did I ? So, whats the problem ?
In other words: There where rules specified. If I'm expected to follow them blindly to the letter - even when not following them could save someones life* - than how come that some bigwig person can ignore such rules with impunity, and get away with it ? Is this perhaps some kind of class justice ? (Yes. yes, it is).
*In my country you can get a ticket for passing a red light even when you do that to make way for the, with full light and sound approaching, police, ambulance or firetruck. You actually have to fight to get such a ticket nullified.
Seriously, Americans deserve this shit. People on this site in particular, considering the types of comments which are regulatory posted here over the last year. Casual racism, sexism, pro-oligarchy, anti "anything" involving social welfare and all the rest of it which comes from being a Trump supported.
Placing an openly anti-science jackass as head of the EPA, a HUGE asshat of a carrier puppet as head of the FCC, an anti-consumer head of the CFPB, an anti-education as secretary of education. The list goes on and on and on. Then to top it off, you morons act like it's all a good thing.
The rest of the planet is just shaking their heads and asking if Americans have finally gone completely batshit crazy. Meanwhile, you shout "We don't care bout what you eurofags say! MURICA!! MURICA!!".
So yes, you deserve what you get. You deserve to eat poison food. You deserve to pay more out the ass for terrible "broadband" internet and pay again to be able to actually use it.
You deserve no medical care. You deserve no education. You deserve to live in a country where corporations dictate all aspects of your life and you have no recourse against them. You deserve all this because you are too stupid to even know that you are stupid.
Since when is it the Government's job to investigate the internal politics of political parties?
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
What is you to expect? This is slashdot where the liberal bias is strongest. Democrat party funds this site with Soros and Clinton dirty money. The Decent Americans like us never support this %100.
You need to work on your wording. Nobody in the US actually talks like that. %100? That's just a rookie mistake there.
Finally a smart person. This is all liberal plot to destroy good companies like equifax first by faking russian "hacks" like the one that allegedly released the personal informations and then by using that as lever to destroy capitalism. You see same patterns with so called "net nutrality" where they first break the law to impose anti-capitalist laws and then whine and moan when decent fellow American Republicans fix result of problems.
Is funny how every time conservative says anything on slashdot we are met with whiny sounding and false accusation of "russia!!!".
That's because y'all sound just like the bots that took you in last election. Between you bullshit conspiracies and willful ignorance, you prove Poe's Law every day.
...not doing a good job? I'm shocked! Absolutely shocked!
1) political grandstanding. sadly the biggest part of the job. It is how you show or earn enough public support to scare other politicians into caring or fearing inaction or corrupt positions. They only care about keeping their power for the few things they do actually care about - this is why for example, abortion is always an issue but they never will ban it because that takes away the issue (and hands it over to the opposition.)
2) people are more motivated AGAINST than FOR an issue. Being the underdog is actually the best position; which is why we have White Christians and the 1% constantly acting like oppressed victims as much as they can even when they have most the power. (War on Christmas , culture "warfare" etc ) When evenly split, this also promotes a constant back and forth as the minority party can better motivate their base each cycle ( obviously other factors contribute as well.)
3) Power divided. Not divided enough which is why we have a lot of our problems today... The flip side is nobody can do much on their own, they have to work with others to get much of anything done. Two of the ways to "do something" were just stated above. Furthermore, you have to look like you are doing something even if nothing is getting done; again see above.
To have accountability. If they're lying to a specific request, and it's on paper, they have definite proof.