WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The National Automobile Dealers Association chose an appropriate time to conduct its Washington Conference with all of the vehicle financing activity that percolated out of the nation’s capital last week.

More than 500 franchised dealers and dealer association executives from across the country traveled to Capitol Hill for NADA’s event to attend briefings and meet with members of Congress to discuss key policy issues, which include protecting consumer choice in auto financing and supporting legislation that boost consumer recall completion rates.

In remarks to conference attendees, NADA chairman Bill Fox stressed the importance of correcting misconceptions in the nation’s capital about the retail-auto industry.

“There’s a disturbing pattern of regulators wrapping ‘red tape’ around our industry and yet, they don’t fully understand it,” said Fox, a franchised dealer in the upstate New York cities of Auburn and Phoenix. “That’s why we need to keep working hard to get H.R. 1737 passed in the House, and explain that dealer-assisted financing is really a consumer issue.”

In July, the House Financial Services Committee passed NADA-backed H.R. 1737 by a bipartisan vote of 47-10 to rescind what the association called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “flawed” auto finance guidance that would limit or eliminate a customer’s ability to receive discounted auto loans at dealerships. This bill also calls for more transparency from the agency and a public notice and comment period when future auto lending guidance is issued.

NADA’s zeal to get the measure passed gained more steam as the CFPB made a pair of enforcement actions while dealers were in Washington, D.C. First, the CFPB ordered Fifth Third Bank to cap dealer markup at either 1.25 percent or 1 percent, depending on the length of the installment contract. Then, the bureau handed a penalty topping $44 million against Westlake Financial Services for infractions association with debt-collection practices.

Furthermore, the subject of auto financing was one of primary topics lawmakers asked CFPB Richard Cordray to address during his semiannual appearance in front of the House Financial Services Committee.

That same group of legislators also managed to push ahead a measure that likely will get cheers from NADA.

Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers, a Republican from Ohio, and Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat from Minnesota, that would create the position of an independent inspector general (IG) at the CFPB passed out of committee.

“The CFPB has been given broad authority and must be accountable to the American people,” Stivers said. “More than 30 other federal departments and agencies have an independent inspector general. This bill would bring the CFPB in line with these agencies and provide the necessary oversight and transparency.”

The CFPB receives its operating funds from the Federal Reserve. Currently, the lawmakers indicated the bureau has very little Congressional oversight and does not have an independent inspector general solely dedicated to the agency. Instead, the CFPB shares an inspector general with the Federal Reserve, which is appointed by the Fed Chairman.

The bill sponsored by Stivers and Walz would amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an independent inspector general for the CFPB.

“The CFPB is an important agency that works to ensure that you, the consumer, are protected from things like predatory payday lenders, shoddy mortgage bankers and defective products. Their work is important, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need oversight,” Walz said.

“I believe the appointment of an independent inspector general will only increase their ability to fulfill their important mission and I am pleased this legislation passed out of committee,” he went on to say.

Having passed the committee, H.R. 957, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015, will soon head to the House floor.

Meanwhile, a week ago, dealers and state dealer groups made more than 300 congressional visits on Capitol Hill to increase bipartisan support for H.R. 1737. The bill currently has 147 cosponsors (86 Republicans and 61 Democrats). A full House vote is expected this fall.

Furthermore, concerning proposed bills on recalls, Wes Lutz, chairman of NADA’s Government Relations Committee, urged dealers to ask their members of Congress not to cosponsor H.R. 2198 and H.R. 1181, saying the legislation “misses the mark by requiring recalled vehicles be grounded instead of actually fixed.”

Lutz pointed out there are 46 million vehicles on the road today under open recall, but many of the defects have nothing to do with vehicle safety

“Imagine what would happen if dealers could only offer a fraction for customer trade-ins, or couldn’t accept them at all. This could be the reality if the Blumenthal amendment is passed,” said Lutz, a dealer in Jackson, Mich. “Dealers support a 100 percent recall completion rate. Congress should focus on legislation that helps increase recall completion rates.”