Republicans on the House Committee on Financial Services, including chairman French Hill (R-AR), introduced a bill that seeks to make changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The Consumer Financial Protection Accountability and Reform Act of 2026 would put the CFPB through the regular congressional appropriations process and establish a dedicated Inspector General. Further, it mandates that there is a cost-benefit analysis for rulemakings that impact small businesses, competition, credit access, and innovation. It would also require periodic reviews of major rules to ensure they work in practice and their benefits justify their costs.
“For too long, shifting priorities, unclear legal standards, duplicative supervision, and haphazard and overreaching enforcement at the CFPB have created uncertainty for consumers and the businesses that serve them. This package establishes durable guardrails to make the CFPB more accountable and transparent while keeping its focus where it belongs: protecting consumers and promoting competition, innovation, and access to affordable financial products and services,” Hill said.
The legislation seeks to clarify the CFPB’s authority so firms can invest and innovate with greater certainty. In addition, it seeks to ensure what it determines to be proportionate penalties and rewards firms that self-report and remediate problems.
Further, it seeks to ensure that regulation does not unnecessarily hinder innovation, consumer choice, or access. Also, it would reduce duplicative examinations and add guardrails to supervision. It would also cut what it deems unnecessary compliance burdens while ensuring innovative firms face federal oversight only when warranted by demonstrated consumer risk.
The lawmakers contend that the CFPB should not provide regulation by enforcement.