II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3975 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to provide for 

whistleblower incentives and protection. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2020 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. BROWN, Ms. WARREN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) 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 provide for whistleblower incentives and protection. 

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 Compensa5 tion for CFPB Whistleblowers Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. BUREAU WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PRO2 TECTION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Consumer Financial Protec4 tion Act (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended by adding 

5 at the end of section 1017 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1017A. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTEC7 TION. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING OR COURT

10 ACTION.—The term ‘administrative proceeding or 

11 court action’ means any judicial or administrative 

12 action brought by the Bureau that results in mone13 tary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. 

14 ‘‘(2) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Con15 sumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund established 

16 under section 1017(d)(1). 

17 ‘‘(3) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘mone18 tary sanctions’ means, with respect to any adminis19 trative proceeding or court action, any monies, in20 cluding penalties, disgorgement, restitution, interest, 

21 ordered to be paid or other amounts of relief ob22 tained under section 1055(a)(2). 

23 ‘‘(4) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—The term 

24 ‘original information’ means information that— 

25 ‘‘(A) is derived from the independent 

26 knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is not known to the Bureau from any 

2 other source, unless the whistleblower is the 

3 original source of the information; 

4 ‘‘(C) is not exclusively derived from an al5 legation made in a judicial or administrative 

6 hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, or 

7 from the news media, unless the whistleblower 

8 is a source of the information; and 

9 ‘‘(D) is not exclusively derived from an al10 legation made in an audit, examination or in11 vestigation. 

12 ‘‘(5) SUCCESSFUL ENFORCEMENT.—The term 

13 ‘successful enforcement’ includes, with respect to 

14 any administrative proceeding or court action 

15 brought by the Bureau, any settlement of such pro16 ceeding or action. 

17 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistle18 blower’ means any individual, or 2 or more individ19 uals acting jointly, who provides original information 

20 relating to a violation of Federal consumer financial 

21 law, consistent with any rule or regulation issued by 

22 the Bureau under this section. 

23 ‘‘(b) AWARDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any administrative pro25 ceeding or court action the Bureau, subject to reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3975.IS S3975

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1 lations prescribed by the Bureau and subject to sub2 section (c), shall pay an award or awards to 1 or 

3 more whistleblowers who voluntarily provided origi4 nal information that led to the successful enforce5 ment of the covered administrative proceeding or 

6 court action in an aggregate amount equal to— 

7 ‘‘(A) not less than 10 percent, in total, of 

8 what has been collected of the monetary sanc9 tions imposed in the action; and 

10 ‘‘(B) not more than 30 percent, in total, of 

11 what has been collected of the monetary sanc12 tions imposed in the action. 

13 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF AWARDS.—Any amount paid 

14 under paragraph (1) shall be paid from the Fund. 

15 ‘‘(3) AWARD MINIMUM.—If the Bureau is un16 able to collect at least $1,000,000 of the monetary 

17 sanctions imposed in the action, the Bureau shall 

18 provide for an award to any single whistleblower 

19 equal to the greater of— 

20 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the amount collected; or 

21 ‘‘(B) $50,000. 

22 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD; DE23 NIAL OF AWARD.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

25 AWARD.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 

2 the percentage amount of an award made under 

3 subsection (b) shall be in the discretion of the 

4 Bureau. 

5 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining the per6 centage amount of an award made under sub7 section (b), the Bureau shall take into consider8 ation— 

9 ‘‘(i) the significance of the informa10 tion provided by the whistleblower to the 

11 successful enforcement of the administra12 tive proceeding or court action; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the degree of assistance provided 

14 by the whistleblower and any legal rep15 resentative of the whistleblower in an ad16 ministrative proceeding or court action; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the programmatic interest of the 

18 Bureau in deterring violations of Federal 

19 consumer financial law (including applica20 ble regulations) by making awards to whis21 tleblowers who provide information that 

22 leads to the successful enforcement of such 

23 laws; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) such additional relevant factors 

2 as the Bureau may establish by rule or 

3 regulation. 

4 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF AWARD.—No award under 

5 subsection (b) shall be made— 

6 ‘‘(A) to any whistleblower who is, or was at 

7 the time the whistleblower acquired the original 

8 information submitted to the Bureau, a mem9 ber, officer, or employee of an entity described 

10 in subclauses (I) through (V) of subsection 

11 (h)(1)(C)(i); 

12 ‘‘(B) to any whistleblower who is convicted 

13 of a criminal violation related to the adminis14 trative proceeding or court action for which the 

15 whistleblower otherwise could receive an award 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(C) to any whistleblower who is found to 

18 be liable for the conduct in the administrative 

19 proceeding or court action, or a related action, 

20 for which the whistleblower otherwise could re21 ceive an award under this section; 

22 ‘‘(D) to any whistleblower who planned 

23 and initiated the conduct at issue in the admin24 istrative proceeding or court action for which 


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1 the whistleblower otherwise could receive an 

2 award under this section; 

3 ‘‘(E) to any whistleblower who submits in4 formation to the Bureau that is based on the 

5 facts underlying the administrative proceeding 

6 or court action previously submitted by another 

7 whistleblower; and 

8 ‘‘(F) to any whistleblower who fails to sub9 mit information to the Bureau in such form as 

10 the Bureau may, by rule or regulation, require. 

11 ‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PERMITTED REPRESENTATION.—Any 

13 whistleblower who makes a claim for an award under 

14 subsection (b) may be represented by counsel. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any whistleblower 

17 who anonymously makes a claim for an award 

18 under subsection (b) shall be represented by 

19 counsel if the whistleblower submits the infor20 mation upon which the claim is based. 

21 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.—Prior to 

22 the payment of an award, a whistleblower shall 

23 disclose the identity of the whistleblower and 

24 provide such other information as the Bureau 


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1 may require, directly or through counsel of the 

2 whistleblower. 

3 ‘‘(e) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—No contract or 

4 other agreement with the Bureau is necessary for any 

5 whistleblower to receive an award under subsection (b), 

6 unless otherwise required by the Bureau by rule or regula7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(f) APPEALS.—Any determination made under this 

9 section, including whether, to whom, or in what amount 

10 to make awards, shall be in the discretion of the Bureau. 

11 Any such determination, except the determination of the 

12 amount of an award if the award was made in accordance 

13 with subsection (b), may be appealed to the appropriate 

14 court of appeals of the United States not more than 30 

15 days after the determination is issued by the Bureau. The 

16 court shall review the determination made by the Bureau 

17 in accordance with section 706 of title 5. 

18 ‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Octo19 ber 30 of each year, the Bureau shall transmit to the 

20 House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate 

21 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs a re22 port on the Bureau’s whistleblower award program under 

23 this section, including a description of the number of 

24 awards granted and the types of cases in which awards 

25 were granted during the preceding fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(h) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Bureau and 

5 any officer or employee of the Bureau, shall not 

6 disclose any information, including information 

7 provided by a whistleblower to the Bureau, 

8 which could reasonably be expected to reveal 

9 the identity of a whistleblower, except in ac10 cordance with the provisions of section 552a of 

11 title 5, United States Code, unless and until re12 quired to be disclosed to a defendant or re13 spondent in connection with a public proceeding 

14 instituted by the Bureau or any entity described 

15 in subparagraph (C). For purposes of section 

16 552 of title 5, United States Code, this para17 graph shall be considered a statute described in 

18 subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 552. 

19 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this paragraph 

20 is intended to limit the ability of the Attorney 

21 General to present such evidence to a grand 

22 jury or to share such evidence with potential 

23 witnesses or defendants in the course of an on24 going criminal investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO GOVERNMENT

2 AGENCIES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss 

4 of its status as confidential in the hands of 

5 the Bureau, all information referred to in 

6 subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion of 

7 the Bureau, when determined by the Bu8 reau to be necessary or appropriate, be 

9 made available to— 

10 ‘‘(I) the Department of Justice; 

11 ‘‘(II) an appropriate department 

12 or agency of the Federal Government, 

13 acting within the scope of its jurisdic14 tion; 

15 ‘‘(III) a State attorney general in 

16 connection with any criminal inves17 tigation; 

18 ‘‘(IV) an appropriate department 

19 or agency of any State, acting within 

20 the scope of its jurisdiction; and 

21 ‘‘(V) a foreign regulatory author22 ity. 

23 ‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE OF INFORMA24 TION.—Each of the entities, agencies, or 

25 persons described in clause (i) shall mainVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3975.IS S3975

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1 tain information described in that clause 

2 as confidential, in accordance with the re3 quirements in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) RIGHTS RETAINED.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privi6 leges, or remedies of any whistleblower under section 

7 1057, any other Federal or State law, or under any 

8 collective bargaining agreement. 

9 ‘‘(i) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Bureau shall 

10 have the authority to issue such rules and regulations as 

11 may be necessary or appropriate to implement the provi12 sions of this section consistent with the purposes of this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(j) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—Information sub15 mitted to the Bureau by a whistleblower in accordance 

16 with rules or regulations implementing this section shall 

17 not lose its status as original information solely because 

18 the whistleblower submitted such information prior to the 

19 effective date of such rules or regulations, provided such 

20 information was submitted after the date of enactment of 

21 this section. 

22 ‘‘(k) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whis23 tleblower who knowingly and willfully makes any false, fic24 titious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or who 

25 makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the 


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1 same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent state2 ment or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 

3 this section and shall be subject to prosecution under sec4 tion 1001 of title 18, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(l) UNENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN AGREE6 MENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NO WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.— 

8 Except as provided under paragraph (3), and not9 withstanding any other provision of law, the rights 

10 and remedies provided for in this section may not be 

11 waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 

12 of employment, including by any predispute arbitra13 tion agreement. 

14 ‘‘(2) NO PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE15 MENTS.—Except as provided under paragraph (3), 

16 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

17 predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or 

18 enforceable to the extent that it requires arbitration 

19 of a dispute arising under this section. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraphs 

21 (1) and (2), an arbitration provision in a collective 

22 bargaining agreement shall be enforceable as to dis23 putes arising under subsection (a)(4), unless the Bu24 reau determines, by rule, that such provision is in25 consistent with the purposes of this title.’’. 


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1 (b) CONSUMER FINANCIAL CIVIL PENALTY FUND.— 

2 Section 1017(d)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection 

3 Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5497(d)(2)) is amended, in the 

4 first sentence, by inserting ‘‘and for awards authorized 

5 under section 1017A’’ before the period at the end. 

Æ 


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