II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3990 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to make the 

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection an independent Financial 

Product Safety Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2020 

Mrs. FISCHER (for herself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. SASSE, and Mr. 

COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 

to make the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

an independent Financial Product Safety Commission, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Product 

5 Safety Commission Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MAKING THE BUREAU AN INDEPENDENT FINAN2 CIAL PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION. 

3 The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 

4 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 1011— 

6 (A) in the heading of such section, by 

7 striking ‘‘BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINAN8 CIAL PROTECTION’’ and inserting ‘‘FINAN9 CIAL PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION’’; 

10 (B) in subsection (a)— 

11 (i) in the heading of such subsection, 

12 by striking ‘‘BUREAU’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘COMMISSION’’; 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘in the Federal Re15 serve System,’’; 

16 (iii) by striking ‘‘independent bureau’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘independent commission’’; 

18 (iv) by striking ‘‘Bureau of Consumer 

19 Financial Protection’’ and inserting ‘‘Fi20 nancial Product Safety Commission (here21 inafter in this section referred to as the 

22 ‘Commission’)’’; and 

23 (v) by striking ‘‘Bureau’’ each place 

24 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Commis25 sion’’; 


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1 (C) by striking subsections (b), (c), and 

2 (d); 

3 (D) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub4 section (j); 

5 (E) in subsection (j), as so redesignated— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘, including in cities in 

7 which the Federal reserve banks, or 

8 branches of such banks, are located,’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘Bureau’’ each place 

10 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Commis11 sion’’; and 

12 (F) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

13 following new subsections: 

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE REGULATIONS.— 

15 The Commission may prescribe such regulations and issue 

16 such orders in accordance with this title as the Commis17 sion may determine to be necessary for carrying out this 

18 title and all other laws within the Commission’s jurisdic19 tion and shall exercise any authorities granted under this 

20 title and all other laws within the Commission’s jurisdic21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(c) COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

24 composed of 5 members who shall be appointed by 


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1 the President, by and with the advice and consent 

2 of the Senate, from among individuals who— 

3 ‘‘(A) are citizens of the United States; and 

4 ‘‘(B) have strong competencies and experi5 ences related to consumer financial products 

6 and services. 

7 ‘‘(2) STAGGERING.—The members of the Com8 mission shall serve staggered terms, which initially 

9 shall be established by the President for terms of 1, 

10 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively. 

11 ‘‘(3) TERMS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

13 Commission, including the Chair, shall serve for 

14 a term of 5 years. 

15 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL.—The President may re16 move any member of the Commission for ineffi17 ciency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 

18 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any member of the 

19 Commission appointed to fill a vacancy occur20 ring before the expiration of the term to which 

21 that member’s predecessor was appointed (in22 cluding the Chair) shall be appointed only for 

23 the remainder of the term. 

24 ‘‘(D) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—Each 

25 member of the Commission may continue to 


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1 serve after the expiration of the term of office 

2 to which that member was appointed until a 

3 successor has been appointed by the President 

4 and confirmed by the Senate, except that a 

5 member may not continue to serve more than 1 

6 year after the date on which that member’s 

7 term would otherwise expire. 

8 ‘‘(E) OTHER EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED.— 

9 No member of the Commission shall engage in 

10 any other business, vocation, or employment. 

11 ‘‘(d) AFFILIATION.—Not more than 3 members of 

12 the Commission shall be members of any one political 

13 party. 

14 ‘‘(e) CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INITIAL CHAIR.—The first member and 

16 Chair of the Commission shall be the individual serv17 ing as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Finan18 cial Protection on the day before the date of the en19 actment of this subsection. Such individual shall 

20 serve until the President has appointed all 5 mem21 bers of the Commission in accordance with sub22 section (c). 

23 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT CHAIR.—Of the 5 members 

24 appointed in accordance with subsection (c), the 


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1 President shall appoint 1 member to serve as the 

2 subsequent Chair of the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY.—The Chair shall be the prin4 cipal executive officer of the Commission, and shall 

5 exercise all of the executive and administrative func6 tions of the Commission, including with respect to— 

7 ‘‘(A) the appointment and supervision of 

8 personnel employed under the Commission 

9 (other than personnel employed regularly and 

10 full time in the immediate offices of members of 

11 the Commission other than the Chair); 

12 ‘‘(B) the distribution of business among 

13 personnel appointed and supervised by the 

14 Chair and among administrative units of the 

15 Commission; and 

16 ‘‘(C) the use and expenditure of funds. 

17 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—In carrying out any of the 

18 Chair’s functions under the provisions of this sub19 section the Chair shall be governed by general poli20 cies of the Commission and by such regulatory deci21 sions, findings, and determinations as the Commis22 sion may by law be authorized to make. 

23 ‘‘(5) REQUESTS OR ESTIMATES RELATED TO

24 APPROPRIATIONS.—Requests or estimates for reg25 ular, supplemental, or deficiency appropriations on 


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1 behalf of the Commission may not be submitted by 

2 the Chair without the prior approval of the Commis3 sion. 

4 ‘‘(f) INITIAL QUORUM ESTABLISHED.—The first 

5 member and Chair of the Commission described under 

6 subsection (e)(1) shall constitute a quorum for the trans7 action of business until the President has appointed all 

8 5 members of the Commission in accordance with sub9 section (c). Following such appointment of 5 members, the 

10 quorum requirements of subsection (g) shall apply. 

11 ‘‘(g) NO IMPAIRMENT BY REASON OF VACANCIES.— 

12 No vacancy in the members of the Commission after the 

13 establishment of an initial quorum under subsection (f) 

14 shall impair the right of the remaining members of the 

15 Commission to exercise all the powers of the Commission. 

16 Three members of the Commission shall constitute a 

17 quorum for the transaction of business, except that if 

18 there are only 3 members serving on the Commission be19 cause of vacancies in the Commission, 2 members of the 

20 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 

21 of business. If there are only 2 members serving on the 

22 Commission because of vacancies in the Commission, 2 

23 members shall constitute a quorum for the 6-month period 

24 beginning on the date of the vacancy which caused the 

25 number of Commission members to decline to 2. 


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1 ‘‘(h) SEAL.—The Commission shall have an official 

2 seal. 

3 ‘‘(i) COMPENSATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CHAIR.—The Chair shall receive com5 pensation at the rate prescribed for level I of the 

6 Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, 

7 United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(2) OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

9 The 4 other members of the Commission shall each 

10 receive compensation at the rate prescribed for level 

11 II of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of 

12 title 5, United States Code.’’; 

13 (2) in section 1012(c), by striking paragraphs 

14 (2), (3), (4), and (5); and 

15 (3) in section 1014(b), by striking ‘‘Not fewer 

16 than 6 members shall be appointed upon the rec17 ommendation of the regional Federal Reserve Bank 

18 Presidents, on a rotating basis.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. DEEMING OF NAME. 

20 Any reference in a law, regulation, document, paper, 

21 or other record of the United States to the Bureau of Con22 sumer Financial Protection, except in subsection (e)(1) of 

23 section 1011 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 

24 of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5491), as added by this Act, shall be 


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1 deemed a reference to the Financial Product Safety Com2 mission. 

3 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION ACT OF

5 2010.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

7 paragraph (2), the Consumer Financial Protection 

8 Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau’’ 

10 each place such term appears, other than where 

11 such term is used to refer to a Director other 

12 than the Director of the Bureau of Consumer 

13 Financial Protection, and inserting ‘‘Financial 

14 Product Safety Commission’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place such 

16 term appears and inserting ‘‘Financial Product 

17 Safety Commission’’, other than where such 

18 term is used to refer to a Director other than 

19 the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Finan20 cial Protection; and 

21 (C) in section 1002, by striking paragraph 

22 (10). 

23 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Consumer Financial 

24 Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (A) in section 1013(c)(3)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘Assistant Director of 

3 the Bureau for’’ and inserting ‘‘Head of 

4 the Office of’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘Assistant Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Head 

7 of the Office’’; 

8 (B) in section 1013(g)(2)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘ASSISTANT DIREC10 TOR’’ and inserting ‘‘HEAD OF THE OF11 FICE’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘an assistant director’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘a Head of the Office of Fi14 nancial Protection for Older Americans’’; 

15 (C) in section 1016(a), by striking ‘‘Direc16 tor of the Bureau’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

17 Financial Product Safety Commission’’; and 

18 (D) in section 1066(a), by striking ‘‘Direc19 tor of the Bureau is’’ and inserting ‘‘first mem20 ber of the Commission is’’. 

21 (b) DODD-FRANK WALL STREET REFORM AND CON22 SUMER PROTECTION ACT.—The Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

23 Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 

24 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 111(b)(1)(D), by striking ‘‘Direc2 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Financial Product 

3 Safety Commission’’; and 

4 (2) in section 1447, by striking ‘‘Director of the 

5 Bureau’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘Financial Product Safety Commission’’. 

7 (c) ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER ACT.—Section 

8 920(a)(4)(C) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1693o–2(a)(4)(C)), as added by section 1075(a)(2) 

10 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Consumer 

12 Financial Protection’’ and inserting ‘‘Financial Product 

13 Safety Commission’’. 

14 (d) EXPEDITED FUNDS AVAILABILITY ACT.—The 

15 Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4001 et 

16 seq.), as amended by section 1086 of the Consumer Finan17 cial Protection Act of 2010, is amended by striking ‘‘Di18 rector of the Bureau’’ each place such term appears and 

19 inserting ‘‘Financial Product Safety Commission’’. 

20 (e) FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE ACT.—Section 2 

21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1812), 

22 as amended by section 336(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

23 Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘Director of the Consumer Financial ProtecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3990.IS S3990

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1 tion Bureau’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

2 ‘‘Chair of the Financial Product Safety Commission’’. 

3 (f) FEDERAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS EXAMINA4 TION COUNCIL ACT OF 1978.—Section 1004(a)(4) of the 

5 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 

6 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3303(a)(4)), as amended by section 1091 

7 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘Director of the Consumer Financial 

9 Protection Bureau’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Financial 

10 Product Safety Commission’’. 

11 (g) FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION IM12 PROVEMENT ACT.—Section 513 of the Financial Literacy 

13 and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9702), as 

14 amended by section 1013(d)(5) of the Consumer Financial 

15 Protection Act of 2010, is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ 

16 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

17 Financial Product Safety Commission’’. 

18 (h) HOME MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1975.— 

19 Section 307 of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 

20 1975, as amended by section 1094(6) of the Consumer 

21 Financial Protection Act of 2010, is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec23 tion’’ each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Finan24 cial Product Safety Commission’’. 


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1 (i) INTERSTATE LAND SALES FULL DISCLOSURE

2 ACT.—The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, as 

3 amended by section 1098A of the Consumer Financial 

4 Protection Act of 2010, is amended— 

5 (1) by amending section 1402(1) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(1) ‘Chair’ means the Chair of the Financial 

8 Product Safety Commission;’’; and 

9 (2) in section 1416(a), by striking ‘‘Director of 

10 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘Chair’’. 

12 (j) REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES ACT

13 OF 1974.—Section 5 of the Real Estate Settlement Proce14 dures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604), as amended by sec15 tion 1450 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

16 Consumer Protection Act, is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director of the Bureau of 

18 Consumer Financial Protection (hereafter in this 

19 section referred to as the ‘Director’)’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘The Financial Product Safety Commission’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place such term 

22 appears and inserting ‘‘Financial Product Safety 

23 Commission’’. 

24 (k) S.A.F.E. MORTGAGE LICENSING ACT OF 2008.— 

25 The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 


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1 5101 et seq.), as amended by section 1100 of the Con2 sumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place such term 

4 appears in headings and text, other than where such 

5 term is used in the context of the Director of the Of6 fice of Thrift Supervision, and inserting ‘‘Financial 

7 Product Safety Commission’’; and 

8 (2) in section 1503, by striking paragraph (10). 

9 (l) TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 

10 3513(c) of title 44, United States Code, as amended by 

11 section 1100D(b) of the Consumer Financial Protection 

12 Act of 2010, is amended by striking ‘‘Director of the Bu13 reau’’ and inserting ‘‘Financial Product Safety Commis14 sion’’. 

Æ 


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