H.R. 1500 — what changed
Consumers First Act
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 4 sections amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 4 Conforming amendments
changed
In general— The Acts and provisions described under subsection (b) are amended by striking “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” each place such term appears (including in headings and items in table of contents) and inserting “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”.
changed
Acts To conform— The Acts and provisions described in this subsection are as follows:
The Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act of 1982 (12 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.).
The Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
The Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.).
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.).
The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1811 note et seq.).
The Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.).
added
Section 626 of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2009 (Division D of Public Law 111–8; 12 U.S.C. 5538).
renumbered
was (3)(11)
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 note et seq.).
renumbered
was (3)(12)
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).
added
Section 10(a)(4) of the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.).
removed
The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.).
renumbered
was (3)(14)
The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App 2).
renumbered
was (3)(15)
The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
removed
The Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (Public Law 111–8).
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
Title LXII of the Revised Statutes of the United States (12 U.S.C. 21 et seq.).
The Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.).
The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.).
The Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (15 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).
changed
Title Sections 552a(w) and 3132(a)(1)(D) of title 5, United States Code.
changed
Title Section 987(g)(3)(E) of title 10, United States Code.
changed
Title Sections 3502(5) and 3513(c) of title 44, United States Code.
Sec. 5 Executive and administration powers
Office Responsibilities— Section 1012 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5492) is amended—
by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
“(c) Office Responsibilities—Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), section 1013(a), and any other provision of law, with respect to the specific functional units and offices described under subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), and (h) of section 1013 and the advisory boards described under section 1014, the Director—
“(1) shall ensure that such functional units, offices, and boards perform the functions, duties, and coordination assigned to them under the applicable provision of section 1013 or 1014; and
“(2) may not reorganize or rename such units, offices, and boards in a manner not provided for under the applicable provision of section 1013 or 1014.”
Duty To provide adequate staffing— Section 1013(a)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(D) Duty to provide adequate staffing—The Director shall ensure that the specific functional units and offices described under subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), and (h) of section 1013, as well as other units and offices with supervisory and enforcement duties, are provided with sufficient staff to carry out the functions, duties, and coordination of those units and offices.”
Limitation on political appointees— Section 1013(a)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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“(D) “(E) Limitation on political appointees
“(i) In general—In appointing employees of the Bureau who are political appointees, the Director shall ensure that the number and duties of such political appointees are as similar as possible to those of the other Federal primary financial regulatory agencies.
“(ii) Political appointees defined—For purposes of this subparagraph, the term political appointee means an employee who holds—
“(I) a position which has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character;
“(II) a position in the Senior Executive Service as a noncareer appointee (as such term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code); or
“(III) a position under the Executive Schedule (subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code).”
Public availability of complaint information—
In general— Section 1013(b)(3) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493(b)(3)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A)—
by inserting “publicly available” before “website”;
by inserting “publicly available” before “database”, each place such term appears; and
by adding at the end the following: “The Director shall ensure that the landing page of the main website of the Bureau contains a clear and conspicuous hyperlink to the consumer complaint database described in this subparagraph and shall ensure that such database is user-friendly and in plain writing (as such term is defined in the Plain Writing Act of 2010). The Director shall ensure that all information on the website or the database that explains how to file a complaint with the Bureau, as well as all reports of the Bureau with respect to information contained in the database, shall be provided in each of the 5 most commonly spoken languages, other than English, in the United States, as determined by the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing basis, and in formats accessible to individuals with hearing or vision impairments.”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(E) Public availability of information
“(i) In general—The Director shall—
“(I) make all consumer complaints available to the public on a website of the Bureau;
“(II) place a clear and conspicuous hyperlink on the landing page of the main website of the Bureau to the website described under subclause (I); and
“(III) ensure that such website—
“(aa) is searchable and sortable by both consumer financial product or service and by covered person; and
“(bb) is user-friendly and written in plain language.
“(ii) Inclusion of complaints submitted with inquiries—For purposes of clause (i), in addition to all complaints described under subparagraph (A), consumer complaints shall include any complaints submitted with, or as part of, an inquiry described under section 1034.
“(iii) Removal of personally identifiable information—In making the information described under clause (i) available to the public, the Director shall remove all personally identifiable information.”
Rule of construction—
In general— The Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shall ensure—
that the database and website described under section 1013(b)(3) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 have, at a minimum, the same availability, transparency, and functionality that such database and website had prior to November 24, 2017; and
that consumers are able, at a minimum, to submit complaints to the Bureau with respect to—
any covered person or service provider; and
any financial product or service.
Definitions— For purposes of this paragraph, the terms covered person, financial product or service, and service provider have the meaning given those terms, respectively, under section 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.
Memoranda of understanding—
Report on current MOUs— Not later than the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shall issue a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate listing—
each memorandum of understanding in effect with the Bureau on November 24, 2017;
any changes made to such a memorandum of understanding since such date, including any memorandum of understanding rescinded since such date; and
a justification for each such change or rescission.
Semi-annual report on MOUs— Section 1016(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5496(c)) is amended—
in paragraph (8), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(10) a list of each memorandum of understanding in effect with the Bureau, any changes made to a memorandum of understanding since the last report was made under subsection (b), and a justification for each such change;”
added
Additional report information on consumer savings— Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) is amended by adding at the end the following:
added “(i) Additional report information on consumer savings—In issuing each report required under section 502(d) of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, the Bureau shall include a numerical estimate of the amount that such Act has saved consumers in fees impacted by such Act, relative to the level of such fees prior to the enactment of such Act.”
Sec. 6 Offices of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Clarification of the duties of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity— Section 1013(c)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493(c)(2)) is amended—
by striking “Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity shall have such powers and duties as the Director may delegate to the Office, including” and inserting “powers and duties of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity shall include”;
in subparagraph (C), by striking “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(E) implementing the Bureau’s enforcement and supervisory authority with respect to fair lending laws; and
“(F) such additional powers and duties as the Director may determine appropriate.”
Office of Students and Young Consumers—
changed
In general— Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) 5493), as amended by section 5(f), is amended—further amended by adding at the end the following:
added “(j) Office of Students and Young Consumers
removed
by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
removed
by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
removed
“(h) Office of Students and Young Consumers
“(1) In general—The Director shall, not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, establish an Office of Students and Young Consumers, which shall work to empower students, young people, and their families to make more informed financial decisions about saving and paying for college, accessing safer and more affordable financial products and services, all matters related to private education loans (as defined under section 1035(e)), and repaying student loan debt, including private education loans.
“(2) Head of the Office—The head of the Office of Students and Young Consumers shall be the Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman, and the Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman shall carry out all functions established under section 1035 through the Office of Students and Young Consumers.
“(3) Supervisory, enforcement, and regulatory matters—The Office of Students and Young Consumers shall assist in all supervisory, enforcement, and regulatory matters of the Bureau related to the functions of the Office.
“(4) Coordination—The Director shall enter into memoranda of understanding and similar agreements with the Department of Education and other Federal and State agencies, as appropriate, in order to carry out the business of the Office of Students and Young Consumers.”
Renaming and appointment clarification of the Private Education Loan Ombudsman—
In general— Section 1035 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5535) is amended—
in the heading of the section by striking “PRIVATE EDUCATION” and inserting “ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT”;
in subsection (a), by striking “The Secretary, in consultation with the Director, shall designate a Private Education Loan Ombudsman” and inserting “The Director shall designate an individual as the Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman”;
in subsection (b), by striking “The Secretary and the Director” and inserting “The Director”; and
in subsection (d)(2), by inserting “the Director,” before “the Secretary,”.
changed
Clerical amendment— The table of contents under section 1(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is amended, in the item relating to section 1035, by striking “PRIVATE EDUCATION” “Private education” and inserting “ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT”.“Assistant director and student”.
Deeming of name— Any reference in any law, regulation, document, record, or other paper of the United States to the “Private Education Loan Ombudsman” shall be deemed a reference to the “Assistant Director and Student Loan Ombudsman”.
changed
Semi-Annual report to Congress on certain offices of the Bureau— Section 1016(c) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5496(c)), as amended by section 5(e)(3), 5(e)(2), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
“(11) with respect to each of the specific functional units and offices established under section 1013—
“(A) a detailed description of the activities of the unit or office since the last report was made under subsection (b); and
“(B) an analysis of the efforts of the Bureau to achieve the duties of the unit or office; and
“(12) with respect to each specific functional units and offices established under section 1013, as well as each other unit and office with supervisory and enforcement duties, a break down of the number of political and professional career staff assigned to and employed by each unit or office at the end of the reporting period.”
Function of any unit or office established To conduct cost benefit analysis— Any unit or office established to conduct cost benefit analysis within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shall, as its sole function, carry out the considerations required by section 1022(b)(2)(A) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(2)(A)).
Sec. 7 Consumer Advisory Board reforms
In general— Section 1014 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5494) is amended—
by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
“(b) Membership
“(1) Qualifications—In appointing the members of the Consumer Advisory Board, the Director shall—
“(A) seek to assemble a diverse and inclusive group of experts in consumer protection, financial services, community development, fair lending and civil rights, and consumer financial products or services and representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, and representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgage loans, and seek representation of the interests of covered persons and consumers, without regard to party affiliation; and
“(B) ensure that at least 2/3 of the members represent the interests of consumers, including experts in consumer protection, fair lending, civil rights, and representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgage loans and other products that resulted in consumer harm.
“(2) Number of members—The Director shall appoint not fewer than 25 members to the Consumer Advisory Board, and not fewer than 6 members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the regional Federal Reserve Bank Presidents, on a rotating basis.
“(3) Membership rights after charter change—Any change to the charter for the Consumer Advisory Board affecting the membership shall not preclude prior or current members from applying for consideration to serve on a reconstituted Consumer Advisory Board.”
in subsection (c)—
by striking “meet from” and inserting “meet in person from”; and
by adding at the end the following: “The Bureau shall provide adequate notice to the members of the Consumer Advisory Board of the time and date of each meeting, and of any meeting cancellations.”
Inclusion of the Director in meetings and access to Bureau staff— Section 1014 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5494) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(e) Inclusion of the Director in meetings and access to Bureau staff—With respect to each in person meeting of the Consumer Advisory Board—
“(1) the Director shall attend such meeting in person; and
“(2) the Director shall ensure that the members of the Consumer Advisory Board have an opportunity to meet and engage in person with all appropriate staff and office of the Bureau.”
Treatment of members of the Consumer Advisory Board— Notwithstanding any other law—
any member of the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on November 1, 2017, may continue to serve as a member of such advisory board until March 27, 2020, and may not be removed from such position without cause by the Director of the Bureau until such date; and
any member of the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the date of enactment of this Act, may continue to serve as a member of such advisory board until March 27, 2020, and may not be removed from such position without cause by the Director of the Bureau until such date.
changed
Additional requirements for advisory committees— Section 1013 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5493) 5493), as amended by section 6(b)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
changed
“(j) “(k) Advisory committee requirements
“(1) Qualifications—In appointing members of any advisory committee, other than the Consumer Advisory Board, the Director shall ensure that at least 1/3 of the members represent the interests of consumers, including experts in consumer protection, fair lending, civil rights, and representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgage loans and other products that resulted in consumer harm.
“(2) Selection of members representing minority-owned and women-owned businesses—In appointing members of any advisory committee, the Director shall seek to promote diversity and inclusion in making appointments, including by appointing individuals who represent minority-owned and women-owned businesses.”