U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) introduced legislation on Thursday to bring transparency to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) activities.
A recent FDIC Inspector General (IG) report found that the FDIC had used its supervisory and enforcement powers to target banks for legal activities. Duffy, the chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, introduced the FDIC Accountability Act, H.R. 4781, a day after he convened a hearing on the report.
“The IG’s report reveals a troubling pattern by FDIC officials of targeting legitimate and legal activities through abusive and unfair regulatory practices,” Duffy said. “I am concerned that the agency has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the rule of law, for the limitations of its own power, and for the financial institutions that it is supposed to serve.”
Duffy’s bill would amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act so that the FDIC could only incur obligations and pay expenses through congressional appropriations acts, rather than through the Deposit Insurance Fund.
“This bill would give Congress the ability to use the power of the purse to hold the FDIC accountable, while also enabling the agency to continue to collect fees from insured depository entities to offset the funding levels as determined by Congress,” Duffy said.