II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 105 

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to transition 

the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to a 5-member board 

of directors. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 11, 2017 

Mrs. FISCHER (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mr. BARRASSO) 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 transition the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to a 5-member board of directors. 

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 ‘‘Consumer Financial 

5 Protection Board Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF THE BUREAU. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1011 of the Consumer Fi8 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5491) is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d); 

2 (2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub3 section (c); and 

4 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT OF THE BUREAU.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The management of the 

8 Bureau shall be vested in a Board of Directors con9 sisting of 5 members, who shall be appointed by the 

10 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

11 Senate, from among individuals who— 

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

13 ‘‘(B) have developed strong competency 

14 and understanding of, and have experience 

15 working with, financial products and services. 

16 ‘‘(2) TERMS.— 

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

18 subparagraph (B), each member of the Board, 

19 including the Chairperson, shall serve for a 

20 term of 5 years. 

21 ‘‘(B) STAGGERED TERMS.—Three of the 

22 initial members of the Board, including the 

23 Chairperson, shall each serve an initial term of 

24 30 months. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL.—The President may re2 move any member of the Board for inefficiency, 

3 neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 

4 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—Any member of the 

5 Board appointed to fill a vacancy occurring be6 fore the expiration of the term to which the 

7 predecessor of that member was appointed (in8 cluding the Chairperson) shall be appointed 

9 only for the remainder of the term. 

10 ‘‘(E) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—Each 

11 member of the Board may continue to serve 

12 after the expiration of the term of office to 

13 which that member was appointed until a suc14 cessor has been appointed by the President and 

15 confirmed by the Senate, except that a member 

16 may not continue to serve more than 1 year 

17 after the date on which the term of that mem18 ber would otherwise expire. 

19 ‘‘(F) SUCCESSIVE TERMS.—A member of 

20 the Board may not be reappointed to a second 

21 consecutive term, except that an initial member 

22 of the Board appointed for less than a 5-year 

23 term may be reappointed to a full 5-year term 

24 and a future member appointed to fill an unexVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:30 Jan 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S105.IS S105

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1 pired term may be reappointed for a full 5-year 

2 term. 

3 ‘‘(3) AFFILIATION.—Not more than 3 members 

4 of the Board, and not more than 2 members of the 

5 Board described in paragraph (2)(B), shall be mem6 bers of any 1 political party. 

7 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD.— 

8 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall 

9 appoint 1 of the 5 members of the Board to 

10 serve as Chairperson of the Board. 

11 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—The Chairperson shall 

12 be the principal executive officer of the Bureau, 

13 and shall exercise all of the executive and ad14 ministrative functions of the Bureau, including 

15 with respect to— 

16 ‘‘(i) the supervision of personnel em17 ployed by the Bureau (other than per18 sonnel employed regularly and full time in 

19 the immediate offices of members of the 

20 Board other than the Chairperson); 

21 ‘‘(ii) the distribution of business 

22 among personnel appointed and supervised 

23 by the Chairperson and among administra24 tive units of the Bureau; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the use and expenditure of 

2 funds. 

3 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—In carrying out any of 

4 the functions of the Chairperson under this 

5 paragraph, the Chairperson shall be governed 

6 by general policies of the Bureau and by such 

7 regulatory decisions, findings, and determina8 tions as the Bureau may by law be authorized 

9 to make. 

10 ‘‘(D) REQUESTS OR ESTIMATES RELATED

11 TO APPROPRIATIONS.—Any request or estimate 

12 for regular, supplemental, or deficiency appro13 priations on behalf of the Bureau, including any 

14 request for a transfer of funds under section 

15 1017(a), may not be submitted by the Chair16 person without the prior approval of the Board. 

17 ‘‘(E) VACANCY.—The President may des18 ignate a member of the Board to serve as Act19 ing Chairperson in the event of a vacancy in the 

20 office of the Chairperson. 

21 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson 

23 shall receive compensation at the rate pre24 scribed for level I of the Executive Schedule 


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1 under section 5312 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.— 

4 The 4 members of the Board other than the 

5 Chairperson shall each receive compensation at 

6 the rate prescribed for level II of the Executive 

7 Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United 

8 States Code. 

9 ‘‘(6) OTHER EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED.—A 

10 member of the Board may not engage in any other 

11 business, vocation, or employment.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION ACT OF

14 2010.—The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 

15 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (A) in section 1002 (12 U.S.C. 5481)— 

17 (i) by striking paragraph (10) and in18 serting the following: 

19 ‘‘(10) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

20 Board of Directors of the Bureau of Consumer Fi21 nancial Protection.’’; and 

22 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (29) 

23 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(30) CHAIRPERSON.—The term ‘Chairperson’ 

2 means the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of 

3 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.’’; 

4 (B) in section 1012 (12 U.S.C. 5492)— 

5 (i) in subsection (a)(8), by striking 

6 ‘‘appointed and supervised by the Direc7 tor’’ and inserting ‘‘appointed by the 

8 Board and supervised by the Chairperson’’; 

9 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Di10 rector’’ and inserting ‘‘Board’’; and 

11 (iii) in subsection (c)— 

12 (I) in paragraph (2)(A), by strik13 ing ‘‘Director’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Board’’; and 

15 (II) in paragraph (4), by striking 

16 ‘‘the Director’’ each place that term 

17 appears and inserting ‘‘any member of 

18 the Board’’; 

19 (C) in section 1013 (12 U.S.C. 5493)— 

20 (i) in subsections (a), (b), (d), and 

21 (e), by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that 

22 term appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

23 (ii) in subsection (a), by adding at the 

24 end the following: 

25 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.— 


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

2 subparagraph (B), the Board shall appoint not 

3 more than 1 employee of the Bureau for every 

4 3 employees that are separated from service 

5 with the Bureau. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The President may 

7 provide the Board with an exemption from the 

8 requirements of subparagraph (A) if the Board 

9 demonstrates that hiring employees in an 

10 amount greater than the limitation in subpara11 graph (A) is necessary— 

12 ‘‘(i) as a result of a national security 

13 concern or an extraordinary emergency; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) to perform a critical mission.’’; 

15 (iii) in subsection (c)— 

16 (I) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by 

17 striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that 

18 term appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

19 and 

20 (II) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (aa) by striking ‘‘Assistant 

22 Director’’ each place that term 

23 appears and inserting ‘‘Head of 

24 Office’’; and 


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1 (bb) by striking ‘‘the Direc2 tor’’ each place that term ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘the Board’’; 

4 and 

5 (iv) in subsection (g)— 

6 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

7 ‘‘Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

8 and 

9 (II) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (aa) in the paragraph head11 ing, by striking ‘‘ASSISTANT DI12 RECTOR’’ and inserting ‘‘HEAD

13 OF THE OFFICE’’; and 

14 (bb) by striking ‘‘an assist15 ant director’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

16 Head of the Office of Financial 

17 Protection for Older Americans’’; 

18 (D) in section 1014 (12 U.S.C. 5494), by 

19 striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that term ap20 pears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

21 (E) in section 1016(a) (12 U.S.C. 

22 5496(a)), by striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Chairperson’’; 

24 (F) in section 1017— 

25 (i) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (I) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘Director’’ and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

3 (II) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (aa) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (AA) by striking ‘‘Di6 rector shall’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘Board shall’’; 

8 (BB) by striking ‘‘Di9 rector,’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Board,’’; and 

11 (CC) by striking ‘‘Di12 rector in’’ each place that 

13 term appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘Board in’’; 

15 (bb) in subparagraph (D), 

16 by striking ‘‘Director’’ and in17 serting ‘‘Board’’; and 

18 (cc) in subparagraph (E), by 

19 striking ‘‘Director to’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Board to’’; and 

21 (III) in paragraph (5)(C), by 

22 striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘Chairperson’’; 

24 (ii) in subsection (c)(1)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘Director,’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘Board,’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘Director and’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘the members of the 

5 Board and’’; and 

6 (iii) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Di7 rector’’ each place that term appears and 

8 inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

9 (G) in subtitles B (12 U.S.C. 5511 et 

10 seq.), C (12 U.S.C. 5531 et seq.), and G (12 

11 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), by striking ‘‘Director’’ 

12 each place that term appears and inserting 

13 ‘‘Board’’; 

14 (H) in section 1061(c)(2)(C)(i) (12 U.S.C. 

15 5581(c)(2)(C)(i)), by striking ‘‘the Board’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘the National Credit Union Adminis17 tration Board’’; and 

18 (I) in section 1066(a) (12 U.S.C. 5586(a)), 

19 by inserting ‘‘first’’ before ‘‘Director’’. 

20 (2) FINANCIAL STABILITY ACT OF 2010.—Sec21 tion 111(b)(1)(D) of the Financial Stability Act of 

22 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5321(b)(1)(D)) is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bu25 reau’’. 


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1 (3) MORTGAGE REFORM AND ANTI-PREDATORY

2 LENDING ACT.—Section 1447 of the Mortgage Re3 form and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (12 U.S.C. 

4 1701p–2) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ each 

5 place the term appears and inserting ‘‘Board of Di6 rectors’’. 

7 (4) ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER ACT.—Sec8 tion 920(a)(4)(C) of the Electronic Fund Transfer 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o–2(a)(4)(C)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Board of Directors of the Bureau’’. 

12 (5) EXPEDITED FUNDS AVAILABILITY ACT.— 

13 The Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 

14 4001 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘Director of 

15 the Bureau’’ each place that term appears and in16 serting ‘‘Board of Directors of the Bureau’’. 

17 (6) FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE ACT.—Sec18 tion 2 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

19 U.S.C. 1812) is amended— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘Director of the Consumer 

21 Financial Protection Bureau’’ each place that 

22 term appears and inserting ‘‘Chairperson of the 

23 Board of Directors of the Bureau of Consumer 

24 Financial Protection’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking 

2 ‘‘Comptroller or Director’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Comptroller or Chairperson’’. 

4 (7) FEDERAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS EXAM5 INATION COUNCIL ACT OF 1978.—Section 1004(a)(4) 

6 of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

7 Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3303(a)(4)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘Director of the Consumer Fi9 nancial Protection Bureau’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair10 person of the Board of Directors of the Bureau of 

11 Consumer Financial Protection’’. 

12 (8) FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION IM13 PROVEMENT ACT.—Section 513 of the Financial Lit14 eracy and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 9702) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place 

16 that term appears and inserting ‘‘Chairperson of the 

17 Board of Directors’’. 

18 (9) HOME MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE ACT OF

19 1975.—Section 307 of the Home Mortgage Disclo20 sure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2806) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau of Consumer’’ each 

22 place that term appears and inserting ‘‘Board of Di23 rectors of the Bureau of Consumer’’. 


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1 (10) INTERSTATE LAND SALES FULL DISCLO2 SURE ACT.—The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclo3 sure Act (15 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (A) in section 1402(1) (15 U.S.C. 

5 1701(1)), by striking ‘‘ ‘Director’ means the Di6 rector’’ and inserting ‘‘ ‘Board’ means the 

7 Board of Directors’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that 

9 term appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; 

10 (C) in section 1403(c) (15 U.S.C. 

11 1702(c))— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘by him’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘by the Board’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘the Board’’; 

16 (D) in section 1407 (15 U.S.C. 1706)— 

17 (i) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘he’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘the Board’’; and 

19 (ii) in subsection (e), by striking 

20 ‘‘him’’ and inserting ‘‘the Board’’; 

21 (E) in section 1411 (15 U.S.C. 1710)— 

22 (i) in subsection (a)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘his findings’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘its finding’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘his rec2 ommendation’’ and inserting ‘‘a rec3 ommendation’’; and 

4 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking 

5 ‘‘Secretary’s order’’ and inserting ‘‘order of 

6 the Board’’; 

7 (F) in section 1415 (15 U.S.C. 1714)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘him’’ each place that 

9 term appears and inserting ‘‘the Board’’; 

10 (ii) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘he 

11 may, in his discretion’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

12 Board may, at the discretion of the 

13 Board’’; and 

14 (iii) in subsection (b)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘he’’ each time 

16 that term appears and inserting ‘‘the 

17 Board’’; and 

18 (II) by striking ‘‘in his discre19 tion’’ each time that term appears 

20 and inserting ‘‘at the discretion of the 

21 Board’’; 

22 (G) in section 1416(a) (15 U.S.C. 

23 1715(a))— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘of the Bureau of Con2 sumer Financial Protection’’ the first time 

3 that term appears; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘his functions, duties, 

5 and powers’’ and inserting ‘‘the functions, 

6 duties, and powers of the Board’’; 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘his administrative 

8 law judges’’ and inserting ‘‘the administra9 tive law judges of the Bureau of Consumer 

10 Financial Protection’’; and 

11 (iv) by striking ‘‘himself’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘the Board’’; 

13 (H) in section 1418a (15 U.S.C. 1717a)— 

14 (i) in subsection (b)(4), by striking 

15 ‘‘The Secretary’s determination or order’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘A determination or order of 

17 the Board’’; and 

18 (ii) in subsection (d), in the third sen19 tence, by striking ‘‘the Secretary’s deter20 mination or order’’ and inserting ‘‘a deter21 mination or order of the Board’’; 

22 (I) in section 1419 (15 U.S.C. 1718)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘the Board’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘his rules and regula2 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘the rules and regula3 tions of the Board’’; and 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘his jurisdiction’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 

6 Consumer Financial Protection’’; and 

7 (J) in section 1420 (15 U.S.C. 1719)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘or any member of 

9 the Board’’ before ‘‘in any proceeding’’; 

10 and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘him’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘the Board or any member of the Board’’. 

13 (11) REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES

14 ACT OF 1974.—Section 5 of the Real Estate Settle15 ment Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604) is 

16 amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘Director of’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘Board of Directors of’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that 

20 term appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

21 (12) S.A.F.E. MORTGAGE LICENSING ACT OF

22 2008.—The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 

23 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (A) in section 1503(10) (12 U.S.C. 

25 5102(10))— 


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1 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘DIRECTOR’’ and inserting ‘‘BOARD’’; 

3 and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘ ‘Director’ means the 

5 Director’’ and inserting ‘‘ ‘Board’ means 

6 the Board of Directors’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘Director’’ each place that 

8 term appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’; and 

9 (C) in section 1514 (12 U.S.C. 5113)— 

10 (i) in subsection (b)(5), by striking 

11 ‘‘Secretary’s expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘ex12 penses of the Board’’; 

13 (ii) in subsection (c)— 

14 (I) in paragraph (1), in the para15 graph heading, by striking ‘‘DIREC16 TOR’’ and inserting ‘‘BOARD’’; 

17 (II) in paragraph (4)— 

18 (aa) in subparagraph (A), in 

19 the paragraph heading, by strik20 ing ‘‘DIRECTOR’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘BOARD’’; and 

22 (bb) in subparagraph (C), 

23 by striking ‘‘Secretary’s ex24 penses’’ and inserting ‘‘expenses 

25 of the Board’’; and 


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1 (III) in paragraph (5), in the 

2 paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘DI3 RECTOR’’ and inserting ‘‘BOARD’’; and 

4 (iii) in subsection (d), in the sub5 section heading, by striking ‘‘DIRECTOR’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘BOARD’’. 

7 (13) TITLE 44.—Section 3513(c) of title 44, 

8 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Direc9 tor of the Bureau’’ and inserting ‘‘Board of Direc10 tors of the Bureau’’. 

11 (14) DEEMING OF NAME.—Any reference in a 

12 law, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 

13 the United States to the Director of the Bureau of 

14 Consumer Financial Protection shall be deemed a 

15 reference to the Board of Directors of the Bureau 

16 of Consumer Financial Protection, unless otherwise 

17 specified in this Act. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall take effect on the date on which not less 

20 than 3 persons have been confirmed by the Senate to serve 

21 as members of the Board of Directors of the Bureau of 

22 Consumer Financial Protection. 

Æ 


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