WASHINGTON—Acting Director Mick Mulvaney will seek a 20% cut in funding for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to bring funding back to the 2015 level.
“I’ve asked them to run through the experiment of reducing spending by 20%," Mulvaney said of his staff, according to reports. "And we’re very close to finalizing that."
Mulvaney indicated the cuts would come primarily from non-personnel spending and travel budget.
He also said the Bureau is set to request $65.7 million from the Federal Reserve for funding for the last quarter of the fiscal year. That would bring the total request to about $381 million, down from $602 the year before. That figure, though, reflects that Mulvaney requested no funding in a previous quarter on the grounds that the agency already had funds available to pay the bills.
The Bureau currently receives its funding through the Fed, though Mulvaney has asked to bring the Bureau under the congressional appropriations process to increase its oversight.
President Donald Trump's proposed 2019 budget seeks to reduce the Bureau's funding and also place it under the congressional appropriations process.