美国国家公共电台 NPR Mick Mulvaney Effectively Fires CFPB Advisory Council

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

A Trump¹ appointee running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has disbanded a consumer advisory² board, and that board helped the bureau identify unfair practices at financial companies.

Consumer advocates say they have been snubbed for months by the new leadership at the bureau. And critics of the bureau's acting³ director say he has been taking lots of meetings with the very financial companies he is supposed to be policing. All right. Here to help us make sense of this is NPR's Chris Arnold. Hey, Chris.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: So let me name this acting director. This is former Republican Congressman⁵ Mick Mulvaney, who's been a controversial pick to run the bureau, even in an acting capacity. Back when he was a congressman, he referred to it as a joke. So what's up with this latest move?

ARNOLD: Right. You know, this is one of these cases of the president finding, perhaps, the guy who hates the agency the most and then putting him in charge of running that very agency, right? I mean, like you said, Mulvaney, when he was back in Congress, he actually drafted legislation to abolish this bureau.

And now since he's come in, he's done a series of steps that have scaled it back, you know, made it a less aggressive watchdog. He's very open about wanting to do that. And so now what's happened is he's effectively disbanded an advisory board that had a bunch of consumer advocates and experts on it. And saying, look, well, we're just not going to meet with you guys anymore.

And we spoke⁶ to Kathleen Engel. She's a law professor at Suffolk University Law School. She's been on this board, and she was on the phone call this morning with one of Mulvaney's deputies, along with other members of this board. And here's what she had to say.

KATHLEEN ENGEL: It was at that conference call we were told that the Consumer Advisory Board members were all going to be relieved of their duties. It's deeply distressing⁷. And they were talking out of both sides of their mouths. And it's quite clear that we've been fired.

KELLY: Chris, what are Mulvaney and his deputies saying about this? What's their explanation?

ARNOLD: Well, they're saying that nobody's been fired. We're keeping this board together while we reconstitute a new board, maybe with people that they like better. But Engel's saying, well, it's kind of a smokescreen. Technically⁸, they're still on the board, but they're not going to have any meetings, and they're not going to be able to do anything.

KELLY: Well, is it a smokescreen? I mean, why do this?

ARNOLD: Well, the official word is this is to streamline⁹ the process, come up with a smaller, more effective advisory board, maybe do some town hall meetings. But critics say, look, it looks like the new leaders at the CFPB just don't want to meet with these consumer groups.

And meanwhile, they've been meeting with a lot of industry people. There's - the calendar that Mick Mulvaney holds apparently¹⁰ shows that he's met with credit card companies, banks, even payday lenders, some of whom contributed to his campaign when he was in Congress.

KELLY: All right. Thanks very much, Chris.

ARNOLD: Thanks, Mary Louise.

KELLY: That's NPR's Chris Arnold.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

8 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

9 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。