II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1124 

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

whistleblower incentives and protection. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. SANDERS) 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 of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended by 

5 inserting after 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 who provides, or 2 or 

19 more individuals acting jointly who provide, original 

20 information relating to a violation of Federal con21 sumer financial law, consistent with any rule or reg22 ulation issued by 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 03:57 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1124.IS S1124

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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 the civil money penalties collected by the Bu9 reau in the action; and 

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

11 the civil money penalties collected by the Bu12 reau 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 collects 

16 less than $1,000,000 in civil money penalties in the 

17 action, the Bureau shall provide for an award to any 

18 single whistleblower equal to the greater of— 

19 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the civil money pen20 alties 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 

24 ‘‘(iv) such additional relevant factors 

25 as the Bureau may establish by rule or 


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1 regulation, including the amount available 

2 in the Fund. 

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

4 subsection (b) shall be made— 

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

6 the time the whistleblower acquired the original 

7 information submitted to the Bureau, a mem8 ber, officer, or employee of an entity described 

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

10 (h)(1)(C)(i); 

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

12 of a criminal violation related to the adminis13 trative proceeding or court action for which the 

14 whistleblower otherwise could receive an award 

15 under this section; 

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

17 be liable for the conduct in the administrative 

18 proceeding or court action, or a related action, 

19 for which the whistleblower otherwise could re20 ceive an award under this section; 

21 ‘‘(D) to any whistleblower who planned 

22 and initiated the conduct at issue in the admin23 istrative proceeding or court action for which 

24 the whistleblower otherwise could receive an 

25 award under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(E) to any whistleblower who submits in2 formation to the Bureau that is based on the 

3 facts underlying the administrative proceeding 

4 or court action previously submitted by another 

5 whistleblower; and 

6 ‘‘(F) to any whistleblower who fails to sub7 mit information to the Bureau in such form as 

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

9 ‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PERMITTED REPRESENTATION.—Any 

11 whistleblower who makes a claim for an award under 

12 subsection (b) may be represented by counsel. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 

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

15 who anonymously makes a claim for an award 

16 under subsection (b) shall be represented by 

17 counsel if the whistleblower submits the infor18 mation upon which the claim is based. 

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

20 the payment of an award, a whistleblower shall 

21 disclose the identity of the whistleblower and 

22 provide such other information as the Bureau 

23 may require, directly or through counsel of the 

24 whistleblower. 


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

2 other agreement with the Bureau is necessary for any 

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

4 unless otherwise required by the Bureau by rule or regula5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(f) APPEALS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any determination made 

8 under this section, including whether, to whom, or in 

9 what amount to make awards, shall be in the discre10 tion of the Bureau. Any such determination, except 

11 the determination of the amount of an award if the 

12 award was made in accordance with subsection (b), 

13 may be appealed to the appropriate court of appeals 

14 of the United States not more than 30 days after 

15 the determination is issued by the Bureau. 

16 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The court shall re17 view the determination made by the Bureau in ac18 cordance with section 706 of title 5, United States 

19 Code. 

20 ‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than De21 cember 31 of each year, the Bureau shall transmit to the 

22 House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate 

23 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs a re24 port on the Bureau’s whistleblower award program under 

25 this section, including a description of the number of 


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1 awards granted and the types of cases in which awards 

2 were granted during the preceding fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(h) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

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

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

7 any officer or employee of the Bureau, shall not 

8 disclose any information, including information 

9 provided by a whistleblower to the Bureau, 

10 which could reasonably be expected to reveal 

11 the identity of a whistleblower, except in ac12 cordance with the provisions of section 552a of 

13 title 5, United States Code, unless and until re14 quired to be disclosed to a defendant or re15 spondent in connection with a public proceeding 

16 instituted by the Bureau or any entity described 

17 in subparagraph (C). For purposes of section 

18 552 of title 5, United States Code, this para19 graph shall be considered a statute described in 

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

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

22 is intended to limit the ability of the Attorney 

23 General to present such evidence to a grand 

24 jury or to share such evidence with potential 


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1 witnesses or defendants in the course of an on2 going criminal investigation. 

3 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO GOVERNMENT

4 AGENCIES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss 

6 of its status as confidential in the hands of 

7 the Bureau, all information referred to in 

8 subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion of 

9 the Bureau, when determined by the Bu10 reau to be necessary or appropriate, be 

11 made available to— 

12 ‘‘(I) the Department of Justice; 

13 ‘‘(II) an appropriate department 

14 or agency of the Federal Government, 

15 acting within the scope of its jurisdic16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(III) a State attorney general in 

18 connection with any criminal inves19 tigation; 

20 ‘‘(IV) an appropriate department 

21 or agency of any State, acting within 

22 the scope of its jurisdiction; and 

23 ‘‘(V) a foreign regulatory author24 ity. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE OF INFORMA2 TION.—Each of the entities, agencies, or 

3 persons described in clause (i) shall main4 tain information described in that clause 

5 as confidential, in accordance with the re6 quirements in subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(2) RIGHTS RETAINED.—Nothing in this sec8 tion shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privi9 leges, or remedies of any whistleblower under section 

10 1057, any other Federal or State law, or under any 

11 collective bargaining agreement. 

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

13 have the authority to issue such rules and regulations as 

14 may be necessary or appropriate to implement the provi15 sions of this section consistent with the purposes of this 

16 section. 

17 ‘‘(j) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—Information sub18 mitted to the Bureau by a whistleblower in accordance 

19 with rules or regulations implementing this section shall 

20 not lose its status as original information solely because 

21 the whistleblower submitted such information prior to the 

22 effective date of such rules or regulations, provided such 

23 information was submitted after the date of enactment of 

24 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(k) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whis2 tleblower who knowingly and willfully makes any false, fic3 titious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or who 

4 makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the 

5 same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent state6 ment or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 

7 this section and shall be subject to prosecution under sec8 tion 1001 of title 18, United States Code. 

9 ‘‘(l) UNENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN AGREE10 MENTS.— 

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

12 Except as provided under paragraph (3), and not13 withstanding any other provision of law, the rights 

14 and remedies provided for in this section may not be 

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

16 of employment, including by any predispute arbitra17 tion agreement. 

18 ‘‘(2) NO PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE19 MENTS.—Except as provided under paragraph (3), 

20 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

21 predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or 

22 enforceable to the extent that the agreement re23 quires arbitration of a dispute arising under this 

24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraphs 

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

3 bargaining agreement shall be enforceable as to dis4 putes arising under this section, unless the Bureau 

5 determines, by rule, that such provision is incon6 sistent with the purposes of this title.’’. 

7 (b) CONSUMER FINANCIAL CIVIL PENALTY FUND.— 

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

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

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

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

Æ 


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