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42 DIRECTOR CORDRAY TESTIFIES BEFORE THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE On April 5, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray testified before the Financial Services Committee in a hearing titled "e 2016 Semi-Annual Reports of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection." In his opening statement, Financial Services Committee Charmin Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) expressed surprise at Cordray's appearance at the hearing, citing the president's ability to remove the director at will and reports that Cordray was to pursue an Ohio gubernatorial bid. "ere is no greater form of consumer protection than fostering competitive, innovative, and transparent markets and then vigorously policing them for fraud, theft, and deception," said Hensarling. "In policing our markets, under Mr. Cordray's leadership, the CFPB's success record is anything but clear." According to Hensarling, the CFPB has shown an "utter disregard for protecting our markets and has made credit more expensive and less available." Rather than acting as a "cop on the beat," Hensarling called the bureau the " judge, jury, and prosecutor all rolled up into one." Ranking Committee Member Maxine Waters (D-California) shared her support of the bureau. "Republicans have been clamoring to destroy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since its inception," said Waters. "ere are constituents in every state who have been ripped off by financial institutions. Why aren't Republicans fighting for them or their financial security? I will continue to stand up for the hardworking consumers whom the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stands up for every day." In his prepared remarks, Cordray defended the role of the CFPB, especially given the current debate surrounding the bureau. "Years of uneven federal oversight on behalf of consumers allowed a lot of bad behavior to go unchecked," Cordray stated. "As the independent consumer watchdog, we are solely focused on the job Congress gave us of assuring that these markets are fair, transparent, and competitive and consumers have access to sound financial products and services. Today, I want to highlight some areas where people remain vulnerable without the Consumer Bureau to stand up for them." NEW JERSEY, ILLINOIS, TEXAS DEMAND HIGHEST PROPERTY TAXES More than $277 billion in property taxes were levied on U.S. single-family homes in 2016—an average of $3,296 per property, according to a 2016 property tax analysis report recently released by ATTOM Data Solutions. e analysis, which looked at property tax data collected from county tax assessors across the nation, broke down last year's property taxes and estimated market values at the state, metro, and county level. What it found was an effective national property tax rate of 1.15 percent levied against more than 84 million single-family homes in the U.S. But some geographic areas saw a much higher rate than that, with one state (New Jersey) clocking in with an effective property tax rate of 2.31 percent—more than twice the national average. Also on the high end of tax rates were Illinois (2.13 percent), Texas (2.06 percent), New Hampshire (2.03 percent), and Vermont (2.02 percent). Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island weren't far behind. At a metro level, the highest rates were seen in the Northeast. e Binghamton, New York, area saw the highest property tax rates at 3.10 percent. At No. 2 was Rochester, New York, with a 2.99 percent effective property tax rate, followed by Rockford, Illinois (2.96 percent); Atlantic City, New Jersey (2.77 percent); and Syracuse, New York (2.67 percent). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the nation's lowest property tax rates—by state—were in Hawaii (0.32 percent), Alabama (0.48 percent), and Colorado (0.52 percent). Tennessee, Delaware, West Virginia, South Carolina, Nevada, Utah, and Arkansas followed closely after. e metro with the lowest property tax rate was Honolulu, with a 0.32 percent effective rate for 2016. Rounding out the top five were Montgomery, Alabama (0.35 percent); Tuscaloosa, Alabama (0.36 percent); Florence, South Carolina (0.44 percent); and Colorado Springs, Colorado (0.44 percent). ough the national average for property taxes came out to approximately $3,300 per home, nine counties in the U.S. averaged annual taxes of $10,000 or more. ose included Westchester, Rockland, and Nassau in New York; Essex, Bergen, Union, and Morris in New Jersey; Marin in California; and Fairfield in Connecticut. Another 32 counties—located mostly in Illinois, Texas, Virginia, and Massachusetts—saw average taxes of $7,000 or more per home. ATTOM's analysis also found that property tax rates were slightly higher on owner-occupied homes than on investment properties, which had rates of 1.21 percent and 1.03 percent, respectively.

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