39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–344 

CONSUMER RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 2013 

FEBRUARY 6, 2014.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HENSARLING, from the Committee on Financial Services, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

MINORITY VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 2571] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2571) to amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act to require the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to notify and obtain permission from consumers 

before collecting nonpublic personal information about such consumers, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 

do pass. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 2571, the Consumer Right to Financial Privacy Act, amends 

the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

(the ‘‘Dodd-Frank Act’’) to prohibit the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the ‘‘CFPB’’ or the ‘‘Bureau’’) from requesting, accessing, collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing nonpublic personal information about a consumer unless (i) the CFPB clearly 

and conspicuously discloses to the consumer, in writing or in an 

electronic form, what information will be requested, obtained, 

accessed, collected, used, retained, or disclosed; and (ii) the consumer informs the CFPB, before such information is requested, obtained, accessed, collected, used, retained, or disclosed, that such 

information may be requested, obtained, accessed, collected, used, 


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retained, or disclosed. The bill subjects CFPB contractors to the 

same restrictions and conditions. It also amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 to clarify that it applies to the examination by or disclosure to the CFPB of financial records or information in the exercise of its authority with respect to a financial 

institution. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Consumers of financial products have a legitimate interest in the 

privacy of their personal financial information. While the DoddFrank Act permits the CFPB to collect data as part of its supervisory and examination functions, it expressly prohibits the Bureau 

from gathering or analyzing personally identifiable financial information on consumers. Section 1022(4)(C) of the Dodd-Frank Act 

provides that the CFPB ‘‘may not use its authority . . . to obtain 

records from covered persons and service providers participating in 

consumer financial services markets for purposes of gathering or 

analyzing the personally identifiable information of consumers.’’ 

The CFPB has said that it is not collecting personally identifiable 

information but has provided limited details to the Committee on 

Financial Services on its data collection efforts. Concerns also have 

been raised about data security issues at the CFPB. A report by 

the Federal Reserve’s Office of Inspector General, which also has 

responsibility for overseeing the CFPB, highlighted a series of concerns with the CFPB’s information-security controls over their 

widely used contractor-operated systems. As part of its assessment, 

the Inspector General examined a contractor-operated system and 

found several ‘‘management, operational, and technical control 

weaknesses.’’ Furthermore, ‘‘CFPB has not established a comprehensive information security strategy to guide the implementation of an agency-wide information security program.’’ 

The Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing on the CFPB’s data collection practices on July 

9, 2013, at which CFPB Deputy Director Steve Antonakes was unwilling or unable to answer many basic questions, including how 

many individual credit card accounts the CFPB is monitoring, or 

how many data fields it monitors per account, even though the 

CFPB’s strategic plan indicates that the CFPB may be tracking as 

many as 900 million credit card accounts. Many members of the 

Committee expressed concern regarding the CFPB’s ability to 

maintain the confidentiality and security of personally identifiable 

information the Bureau collects about American consumers. 

In response to the concerns raised at this hearing, Rep. Duffy introduced H.R. 2571 to ensure that the CFPB does not collect or try 

to collect a consumer’s nonpublic personal financial information 

without such consumer’s permission. The bill requires the CFPB 

and its contractors to request permission from a consumer before 

seeking his or her nonpublic personal information and requires the 

consumer to expressly consent to the data collection effort. To this 

end, the bill promotes financial privacy, permits the consumer to 

manage access to his or her nonpublic personal information, and 

improves the transparency of the CFPB’s massive data-collection 

efforts. 


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HEARINGS

The Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing on H.R. 2571 

on October 29, 2013. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on November 20, 2013, and ordered H.R. 2571 to be reported favorably 

to the House without amendment by a recorded vote of 32 yeas to 

26 nays (recorded vote no. FC–45), a quorum being present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes on the motion 

to report legislation and amendments thereto. 

1. A motion by Chairman Hensarling to report the bill (H.R. 

2571) without amendment to the House with a favorable recommendation was agreed to by a record vote of 32 yeas to 26 nays 

(recorded vote no. FC–45). 

RECORD VOTE NO. FC–45 

Representative Yea Nay Present Representative Yea Nay Present 

Mr. Hensarling ...................... X ........... ............. Ms. Waters ........................... ........... X .............

Mr. Bachus ........................... X ........... ............. Mrs. Maloney (NY) ................ ........... X .............

Mr. King (NY) ........................ X ........... ............. Ms. Vela ́zquez ....................... ........... X .............

Mr. Royce .............................. X ........... ............. Mr. Watt ............................... ........... X .............

Mr. Lucas .............................. X ........... ............. Mr. Sherman ......................... ........... X .............

Mr. Gary G. Miller (CA) ......... X ........... ............. Mr. Meeks ............................. ........... X .............

Mrs. Capito ........................... X ........... ............. Mr. Capuano ......................... ........... X .............

Mr. Garrett ............................ X ........... ............. Mr. Hinojosa ......................... ........... X .............

Mr. Neugebauer .................... X ........... ............. Mr. Clay ................................ ........... ........... .............

Mr. McHenry .......................... X ........... ............. Mrs. McCarthy (NY) .............. ........... ........... .............

Mr. Campbell ........................ ........... ........... ............. Mr. Lynch .............................. ........... X .............

Mrs. Bachmann .................... X ........... ............. Mr. David Scott (GA) ............ ........... X .............

Mr. McCarthy (CA) ................ X ........... ............. Mr. Al Green (TX) ................. ........... X .............

Mr. Pearce ............................ X ........... ............. Mr. Cleaver ........................... ........... X .............

Mr. Posey .............................. X ........... ............. Ms. Moore ............................. ........... X .............

Mr. Fitzpatrick ...................... X ........... ............. Mr. Ellison ............................ ........... X .............

Mr. Westmoreland ................. X ........... ............. Mr. Perlmutter ...................... ........... X .............

Mr. Luetkemeyer ................... X ........... ............. Mr. Himes ............................. ........... X .............

Mr. Huizenga (MI) ................. X ........... ............. Mr. Peters (MI) ..................... ........... X .............

Mr. Duffy ............................... X ........... ............. Mr. Carney ............................ ........... X .............

Mr. Hurt ................................ X ........... ............. Ms. Sewell (AL) .................... ........... X 

Mr. Grimm ............................ X ........... ............. Mr. Foster ............................. ........... X .............

Mr. Stivers ............................ X ........... ............. Mr. Kildee ............................. ........... X .............

Mr. Fincher ........................... X ........... ............. Mr. Murphy (FL) .................... ........... X .............

Mr. Stutzman ........................ X ........... ............. Mr. Delaney .......................... ........... X .............

Mr. Mulvaney ........................ X ........... ............. Ms. Sinema .......................... ........... X .............

Mr. Hultgren ......................... X ........... ............. Mrs. Beatty ........................... ........... X .............

Mr. Ross ............................... X ........... ............. Mr. Heck (WA) ...................... ........... X .............

Mr. Pittenger ......................... X ........... .............

Mrs. Wagner ......................... X ........... .............

Mr. Barr ................................ X ........... .............

Mr. Cotton ............................. X ........... .............

Mr. Rothfus ........................... X ........... .............


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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee has held hearings and made 

findings that are reflected in this report. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee states that H.R. 2571, among 

other things, prohibits the CFPB from requesting, accessing, collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing nonpublic personal information about a consumer without the consumer’s express permission. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX

EXPENDITURES

In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the cost estimate prepared by 

the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by 

the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate provided by 

the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, February 6, 2014. 

Hon. JEB HENSARLING, 

Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2571, the Consumer 

Right to Financial Privacy Act of 2013. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susan Willie. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2571—Consumer Right to Financial Privacy Act of 2013 

Summary: H.R. 2571 would require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in its efforts to monitor risks in markets 

for consumer financial products, to notify and obtain permission 

from individuals before collecting or using their personal informaVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:02 Feb 08, 2014 Jkt 039006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR344.XXX HR344

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tion. The bill also would extend that requirement to businesses 

hired by the CFPB if the information is being collected on the 

agency’s behalf. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2571 would increase direct spending by $8 million over the 2014–2024 period; therefore, payas-you go procedures apply. Enacting H.R. 2571 would not affect 

revenues, and implementing the bill would not affect spending subject to appropriation. 

H.R. 2571 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 2571 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 370 (commerce and 

housing credit). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2014– 

2019 

2014– 

2024 

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING 

Estimated Budget Authority .............. 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 9 

Estimated Outlays ............................. * 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 8 

Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding; * = less than $500,000. 

Basis of estimate; For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted near the middle of fiscal year 2014 and that 

spending will follow historical patterns for the CFPB. The CFPB is 

permanently authorized to spend amounts transferred from the 

Federal Reserve; because that activity is not subject to appropriation, CFPB expenditures are recorded in the budget as direct 

spending. 

Under current law, the CFPB may obtain certain financial information about an individual from businesses that offer financial 

products to consumers under certain conditions. H.R. 2571 would 

require the bureau (and any entities collecting information for the 

bureau) to inform consumers of the information that is being 

sought and receive permission from the affected individuals before 

gathering such information. CBO estimates that it would cost $8 million over the 2014–2024 

period to implement a system to monitor requests made to individuals. Information from the CFPB indicates that the bulk of the 

data maintained by the bureau to monitor risks to consumers of financial products does not contain information that allows individual consumers to be identified. However, based on information 

from the CFPB, CBO expects that the bureau would develop a system to monitor requests made to individuals when the agency does 

use information that is individually identifiable. CBO estimates the 

CFPB would spend about $3 million soon after enactment for system development costs, and less than $1 million per year thereafter 

for ongoing use and maintenance costs. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 

of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures 

for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net 

changes in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table. 


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CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 2571, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES ON NOVEMBER 21, 2013 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2014– 

2019 

2014– 

2024 

NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT 

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact ...... 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 8 

Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 2571 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 

governments. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Susan Willie, Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell, Impact on 

the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of the section 102(b)(3) of the 

Congressional Accountability Act. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 2571 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule 

XXI. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Pursuant to section 3(j) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013), the 

Committee states that no provision of H.R. 2571 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included 

in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program 

related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULEMAKING

Pursuant to section 3(k) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013), the 

Committee states that H.R. 2571 contains no directed rulemaking. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

This section cites H.R. 2571 as the ‘‘Consumer Right to Financial 

Privacy Act of 2013.’’ 

Section 2. Requirement of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to obtain permission before collecting nonpublic personal 

information 

This section amends the Dodd-Frank Act to require the CFPB to 

obtain express permission from a consumer before requesting, obtaining, accessing, collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing any 

‘‘nonpublic personal information’’ about such consumer. The section 

extends this permission requirement to contractors the CFPB hires 

to carry out its regulatory functions. Finally, it defines ‘‘nonpublic 

personal information.’’ 

Section 3. Removal of exemption for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection from the Right to Financial Privacy Act 

Consistent with section 2, this section strikes from the Right to 

Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (RFPA) an existing exception for 

CFPB’s current data-collection efforts, thus restoring the RFPA’s 

applicability to such efforts. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

DODD-FRANK WALL STREET REFORM AND CONSUMER 

PROTECTION ACT 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE X—BUREAU OF CONSUMER 

FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

* * * * * * * 

Subtitle B—General Powers of the Bureau 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 1022. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(c) MONITORING.— 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(9) CONSUMER PRIVACY.— 


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(A) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau ømay not obtain from a 

covered person or service provider¿ may not request, obtain, access, collect, use, retain, or disclose any øpersonally 

identifiable financial¿ nonpublic personal information 

about a consumer øfrom the financial records of the covered person or service provider, except—¿ unless— 

ø(i) if the financial records are reasonably described 

in a request by the Bureau and the consumer provides 

written permission for the disclosure of such information by the covered person or service provider to the 

Bureau; or 

ø(ii) as may be specifically permitted or required 

under other applicable provisions of law and in accordance with the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 

(12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.).¿ 

(i) the Bureau clearly and conspicuously discloses to 

the consumer, in writing or in an electronic form, what 

information will be requested, obtained, accessed, collected, used, retained, or disclosed; and 

(ii) before such information is requested, obtained, 

accessed, collected, used, retained, or disclosed, the consumer informs the Bureau that such information may 

be requested, obtained, accessed, collected, used, retained, or disclosed. 

* * * * * * * 

ø(B) TREATMENT OF COVERED PERSON OR SERVICE PROVIDER.—With respect to the application of any provision of 

the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, to a disclosure 

by a covered person or service provider subject to this subsection, the covered person or service provider shall be 

treated as if it were a ‘‘financial institution’’, as defined in 

section 1101 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 3401).¿ 

(B) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT TO CONTRACTORS OF

THE BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall apply to any person directed or engaged by the Bureau to collect information to the extent 

such information is being collected on behalf of the Bureau. 

(C) DEFINITION OF NONPUBLIC PERSONAL INFORMATION.— 

In this paragraph, the term ‘‘nonpublic personal information’’ has the meaning given the term in section 509 of the 

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6809). 

* * * * * * * 

RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT OF 1978 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE XI—RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY 

* * * * * * * 


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EXCEPTIONS

SEC. 1113. (a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(r) DISCLOSURE TO THE BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION.—Nothing in this title shall apply to the examination by 

or disclosure to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection of financial records or information in the exercise of its authority with 

respect to a financial institution.¿ 

* * * * * * * 


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MINORITY VIEWS 

H.R. 2571, the ‘‘Consumer Right to Financial Privacy Act of 

2013’’ is a transparent attack on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) data driven approach to regulating consumer 

financial products and services. The bill would prevent the CFPB 

from accessing, collecting, using, retaining or disclosing non-public 

information without each individual consumer’s written consent. 

First and foremost, the CFPB is already prohibited from collecting personally identifiable information in the course of its market monitoring responsibilities. Although the Bureau does collect 

certain information as part of its responsibility to identify and 

monitor market trends and proactively address emerging consumer 

credit issues, this information is deliberately depersonalized and 

aggregated to ensure consumer’s sensitive information is protected. 

Despite existing restrictions on the CFPB’s use of sensitive consumer data, the financial institutions that the CFPB is tasked with 

regulating have ready access to this information through private 

data vendors, which they use to market products to consumers. Requiring the Bureau to seek consent on an individual level for access 

to aggregated and anonymous data is not only a hindrance to their 

core mission to regulating the entities that offer consumer financial 

products and services, but it is a burdensome requirement well 

above and beyond what is required of other bank regulators. 

Rather than constraining the Bureau with onerous and unnecessary requirements that will impede its ability to protect consumers, 

the Committee should turn its attention to the pressing matter of 

improving the ways that private companies collect and protect consumer financial data, as evidenced by the recent string of high profile security breaches. Unfortunately, H.R. 2571 does not address 

any of these serious issues, nor does it increase consumer protection. It is designed simply to curtail the ability of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect consumers, while ensuring 

that financial institutions maintain a monopoly on access to consumers’ sensitive information. 

MAXINE WATERS. STEPHEN F. LYNCH. RUBE ́ N HINOJOSA. KEITH ELLISON. DAVID SCOTT. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO. CAROLYN B. MALONEY. KYRSTEN SINEMA. JOYCE BEATTY. 

BILL FOSTER. 

DANIEL KILDEE. 

AL GREEN. 


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JAMES A. HIMES. DENNY HECK. JOHN CARNEY. GREGORY W. MEEKS. TERRI SEWELL. GWEN MOORE. WM. LACY CLAY. PATRICK MURPHY. ED PERLMUTTER. BRAD SHERMAN. EMANUEL CLEAVER. 

Æ 


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