CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act

CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act

This bill changes the structure, funding, and rulemaking procedures of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The bill removes the bureau from the Federal Reserve System and reestablishes it as an independent agency. The bill also changes the leadership structure by establishing a five-person commission led by a chair rather than a director as under current law. The bill eliminates the bureau's ability to receive funding through transfers from the Federal Reserve and brings the bureau under the regular appropriations process. The bill also establishes a separate inspector general for the bureau. Currently, the bureau is under the supervision of the Federal Reserve's Inspector General.

Additionally, the bill creates within the bureau the Office of Economic Analysis that must review all proposed and existing guidance, orders, rules, and regulations. In the course of a rulemaking, the office must publish an assessment of all anticipated direct and indirect costs and benefits of the proposed regulation and of any reasonable alternatives. As part of the required analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the bureau must describe the impact on small businesses of proposed and final rules and a justification for the rejection of any alternatives.

Finally, the bill requires the bureau to provide awards to whistleblowers who report information resulting in monetary sanctions.

Bill 118 hr 2798, also known as the CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act, aims to make changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in order to increase transparency and accountability within the agency. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 4, 2021.

One of the key provisions of the bill is to require the CFPB to submit an annual budget to Congress for approval. This would give Congress more oversight over the agency's spending and ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently. Additionally, the bill would require the CFPB to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of any proposed regulations to determine the potential impact on consumers and the economy.

The bill also seeks to increase transparency by requiring the CFPB to publish more information about its activities, including its enforcement actions and rulemaking processes. This would allow the public to have a better understanding of how the agency operates and the decisions it makes. Overall, the CFPB Transparency and Accountability Reform Act aims to improve the functioning of the CFPB by increasing oversight, transparency, and accountability. Supporters of the bill argue that these changes are necessary to ensure that the agency is acting in the best interests of consumers and the economy.