1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “CFPB Stability Act of 2022”.
CFPB Stability Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to subject the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the regular appropriations process, and for other purposes.
2. Making the Bureau a commission
in section 1011—
in subsection (a), by striking “in the Federal Reserve System,”;
by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d);
by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (j);
in subsection (j), as so redesignated, by striking “, including in cities in which the Federal reserve banks, or branches of such banks, are located,”; and
by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b) Authority To prescribe regulations—The Bureau may prescribe such regulations and issue such orders in accordance with this title as the Bureau may determine to be necessary for carrying out this title and all other laws within the Bureau’s jurisdiction and shall exercise any authorities granted under this title and all other laws within the Bureau’s jurisdiction.
“(c) Composition of the Bureau
“(1) In general—The Bureau shall be composed of 5 members who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
“(2) Staggering—The members of the Bureau shall serve staggered terms, which initially shall be established by the President for terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively.
“(3) Terms
“(A) In general—Each member of the Bureau, including the Chair, shall serve for a term of 5 years.
“(B) Removal—The President may remove any member of the Bureau for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
“(C) Vacancies—Any member of the Bureau appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term to which that member’s predecessor was appointed (including the Chair) shall be appointed only for the remainder of the term.
“(D) Continuation of service—Each member of the Bureau may continue to serve after the expiration of the term of office to which that member was appointed until a successor has been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, except that a member may not continue to serve more than 1 year after the date on which that member’s term would otherwise expire.
“(E) Other employment prohibited—No member of the Bureau shall engage in any other business, vocation, or employment.
“(d) Affiliation—Not more than 3 members of the Bureau shall be members of any one political party.
“(e) Chair of the Bureau
“(1) Initial Chair—The first member and Chair of the Bureau shall be the individual serving as Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection on the day before the date of the enactment of this subsection.
“(2) Subsequent Chair—Of the 5 members appointed in accordance with subsection (c), the President shall appoint 1 member to serve as the subsequent Chair of the Bureau.
“(3) Authority—The Chair shall be the principal executive officer of the Bureau, and shall exercise all of the executive and administrative functions of the Bureau, including with respect to—
“(A) the appointment and supervision of personnel employed under the Bureau (other than personnel employed regularly and full time in the immediate offices of members of the Bureau other than the Chair);
“(B) the distribution of business among personnel appointed and supervised by the Chair and among administrative units of the Bureau; and
“(C) the use and expenditure of funds.
“(4) Limitation—In carrying out any of the Chair’s functions under the provisions of this subsection the Chair shall be governed by general policies of the Bureau and by such regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations as the Bureau may by law be authorized to make.
“(5) Requests or estimates related to appropriations—Requests or estimates for regular, supplemental, or deficiency appropriations on behalf of the Bureau may not be submitted by the Chair without the prior approval of the Bureau.
“(6) Term—The term of each Chair serving under this subsection shall expire on the earlier of—
“(A) the date that is 5 years after the date on which the Chair began serving; and
“(B) the date on which the individual who was President while the Chair was serving leaves office.
“(f) Initial quorum established—The first member and Chair of the Bureau described under subsection (e)(1) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business until the President has appointed all 5 members of the Bureau in accordance with subsection (c). Following such appointment of 5 members, the quorum requirements of subsection (g) shall apply.
“(g) No impairment by reason of vacancies—No vacancy in the members of the Bureau after the establishment of an initial quorum under subsection (f) shall impair the right of the remaining members of the Bureau to exercise all the powers of the Bureau. Three members of the Bureau shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except that if there are only 3 members serving on the Bureau because of vacancies in the Bureau, 2 members of the Bureau shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If there are only 2 members serving on the Bureau because of vacancies in the Bureau, 2 members shall constitute a quorum for the 6-month period beginning on the date of the vacancy which caused the number of Bureau members to decline to 2.
“(h) Seal—The Bureau shall have an official seal.
“(i) Compensation
“(1) Chair—The Chair shall receive compensation at the rate prescribed for level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.
“(2) Other members of the Bureau—The 4 other members of the Bureau shall each receive compensation at the rate prescribed for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.”
in section 1012(c), by striking paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5);
in section 1013(a), by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) Compensation—Notwithstanding any otherwise applicable provision of title 5, United States Code, concerning compensation, including the provisions of chapter 51 and chapter 53, the rates of basic pay for all employees of the Bureau may be set and adjusted by the Chair.”
in section 1014(b), by striking “Not fewer than 6 members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the regional Federal Reserve Bank Presidents, on a rotating basis.”.
Presidential appointment of Inspector General of the Financial Product Safety Bureau— The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended—
in section 8G—
in subsection (a)(2), by striking “and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”;
in subsection (c), by striking “For the purposes of implementing this section” and all that follows through the end of the subsection; and
in subsection (g)(3), by striking “and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”; and
in section 12—
in paragraph (1), by inserting “the Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection;” after “the President of the Export-Import Bank;”; and
in paragraph (2), by inserting “the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection,” after “the Export-Import Bank,”.
3. Subjecting the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the regular appropriations process
In general— Section 1017 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5497) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in the subsection heading, by striking “Transfer of Funds From Board Of Governors.—” and inserting “Budget and Financial Management.—”;
by striking paragraphs (1) through (3);
by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and
in paragraph (1), as so redesignated—
in the paragraph heading, by striking “Budget and financial management.—” and inserting “In general.—”;
by striking subparagraph (E); and
by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (E);
by striking subsections (b) and (c);
by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (b) and (c), respectively;
in subsection (b), as so redesignated—
in paragraph (2)—
in the first sentence, by inserting “direct” before “victims”; and
by striking the second sentence; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Treatment of excess amounts—If, after the Bureau obtains a civil penalty in a judicial or administrative action under Federal consumer financial laws, deposits that civil penalty into the Civil Penalty Fund under paragraph (1), and, under paragraph (2), makes payments to all of the direct victims of activities for which that civil penalty was imposed, amounts remain in the Civil Penalty Fund with respect to that civil penalty, the Bureau shall transfer those excess amounts to the general fund of the Treasury.”
in subsection (c), as so redesignated—
by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the following:
“(1) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out this title for fiscal year 2024.”
by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2).
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2023.
4. Conforming amendments
Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010—
In general— Except as provided under paragraph (2), the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended—
by striking “Director of the Bureau” each place the term appears, other than where the term is used to refer to a Director other than the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and inserting “Chair of the Bureau”;
by striking “Director” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair”, other than where the term is used to refer to a Director other than the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; and
in section 1002, by striking paragraph (10).
in section 1013(c)(3)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “Assistant Director of the Bureau for” and inserting “Head of the Office of”; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “Assistant Director” and inserting “Head of the Office”; and
in section 1013(g)(2)—
by striking “Assistant director” and inserting “Head of the Office”; and
by striking “an assistant director” and inserting “a Head of the Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans”.
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act— The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended—
in section 111(b)(1)(D), by striking “Director” and inserting “Chair”; and
in section 1447, by striking “Director” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair”.
Electronic Fund Transfer Act— Section 920(a)(4)(C) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o–2(a)(4)(C)), as added by section 1075(a)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, is amended by striking “Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” and inserting “Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”.
Expedited Funds Availability Act— The Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended by striking “Director of the Bureau” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair of the Bureau”.
Federal Deposit Insurance Act— Section 2 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1812) is amended by striking “Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978— Section 1004(a)(4) of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3303(a)(4)) is amended by striking “Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” and inserting “Chair of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”.
Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act— Section 513 of the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9702) is amended by striking “Director” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair”.
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975— Section 307 of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2806) is amended by striking “Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”.
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act— The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended—
in section 1402 (15 U.S.C. 1701), by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
“(1) Chair means the Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection;”
by striking “Director” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair”.
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974— Section 5 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604) is amended—
by striking “The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Director”)” and inserting “The Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (hereafter in this section referred to as the Chair)”; and
by striking “Director” each place the term appears and inserting “Chair”.
S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008— The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended—
by striking “Director” each place the term appears in headings and text, other than where the term is used in the context of the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and inserting “Chair”; and
in section 1503 (12 U.S.C. 5102), by striking paragraph (10) and inserting the following:
“(10) Chair—The term Chair means the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.”
Title 44, United States Code— Section 3513(c) of title 44, United States Code is amended by striking “Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” and inserting “Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”.