Overview
- The bill would end the CFPB’s current funding route through the Federal Reserve and instead require the bureau to request money through the regular congressional appropriations process, placing its budget under annual congressional control.
- All CFPB rulemaking would need a written justification, a cost‑benefit analysis that covers direct and indirect effects, and consideration of alternatives before rules could be finalized.
- Legislators would narrow enforcement tools by limiting the bureau’s ability to define “abusive” practices, create safe harbors for some small‑dollar loans made by depository institutions, and raise the asset threshold for CFPB supervision from $10 billion to $30 billion indexed to nominal GDP.
- Sponsors argue the package will restore predictability and democratic accountability, the measure has won more than two dozen Republican cosponsors but no Democrats, and backers say it is intended to shape debate for the next Congress rather than pass this session.
- Supporters say the changes would ease compliance burdens for community lenders and promote stable markets, while critics and consumer advocates warn the reforms could reduce oversight of mid‑sized firms and weaken protections put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.