On July 10, 2023, WLF filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to confirm that Congress must appropriate money for independent agencies on an annual basis. The Fifth Circuit held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability to decide its funding level each year violates the Appropriations Clause. As WLF’s brief explains, this holding is consistent with founding-era practice. Contrary to the CFPB’s argument, no past agency had a funding mechanism comparable to the CFPB’s funding mechanism. WLF’s brief also explains why the courts are the appropriate venue to resolve these separation-of-powers disputes.
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