HARA$$ the CFPB: Omnibus Edition

It's appropriations season and efforts to harass the CFPB seem to be going into overdrive. The latest scheme:  hit the CFPB with financial reporting requirements unparalleled for any government agency.  This little nugget of petty harassment is found in section 504 of the House Financial Services Appropriations bill being considered for inclusion in the final budget package. 

The bill would require the CFPB to submit quarterly reports to Congress that detail its obligations by object class, office and activity; an estimate of the same information for the coming quarter; the number of full-time equivalents in each office the previous quarter and an estimate for the coming quarter; and actions taken to achieve the goals, objectives and performance measures of each office. This level of reporting detail required is unprecedented for other agencies, as is the reporting timeline: two weeks after the close of each quarter. 

It's hard to see what the point of section 504 is other than to harass the CFPB, tie up the agency in bureaucratic redtape, and distract from its mission.  

Now you might note that the CFPB IS required under section 1017(a)(4)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act to make quarterly budget reports to OMB and under section 1017(e)(4) to submit annual reports to the appropriations committee. But these reports do not require the level of detail mandated by section 504 and do not have a specific deadline, much less a two-week turnaround. There's also an annual Comptroller General audit and report to Congress.  All of which is to say, the CFPB is subject to standard financial controls and oversight. There haven't been any budget scandals, etc. that merit closer scrutiny. It's hard to see any reason for the additional level of scrutiny in section 504 other than animus toward the CFPB's mission.