I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2465 

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

whistleblower incentives and protection. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 3, 2023 

Mr. GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BUREAU WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PRO7 TECTION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Consumer Financial Protec9 tion Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended by 

10 inserting after section 1017 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1017A. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTEC2 TION. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING OR COURT

5 ACTION.—The term ‘administrative proceeding or 

6 court action’ means any judicial or administrative 

7 action brought by the Bureau that results in mone8 tary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000. 

9 ‘‘(2) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Con10 sumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund established 

11 under section 1017(d)(1). 

12 ‘‘(3) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘mone13 tary sanctions’ means, with respect to any adminis14 trative proceeding or court action, any monies, in15 cluding penalties, disgorgement, restitution, interest, 

16 ordered to be paid or other amounts of relief ob17 tained under section 1055(a)(2). 

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

19 ‘original information’ means information that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is derived from the independent 

21 knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower; 

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

23 other source, unless the whistleblower is the 

24 original source of the information; 

25 ‘‘(C) is not exclusively derived from an al26 legation made in a judicial or administrative 


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1 hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, or 

2 from the news media, unless the whistleblower 

3 is a source of the information; and 

4 ‘‘(D) is not exclusively derived from an al5 legation made in an audit, examination, or in6 vestigation. 

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

8 ‘successful enforcement’ includes, with respect to 

9 any administrative proceeding or court action 

10 brought by the Bureau, any settlement of such pro11 ceeding or action. 

12 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistle13 blower’ means any individual who provides, or 2 or 

14 more individuals acting jointly who provide, original 

15 information relating to a violation of Federal con16 sumer financial law, consistent with any rule or reg17 ulation issued by the Bureau under this section. 

18 ‘‘(b) AWARDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any administrative pro20 ceeding or court action the Bureau, subject to regu21 lations prescribed by the Bureau and subject to sub22 section (c), shall pay an award or awards to 1 or 

23 more whistleblowers who voluntarily provided origi24 nal information that led to the successful enforceVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2465.IH H2465

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1 ment of the covered administrative proceeding or 

2 court action in an aggregate amount equal to— 

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

4 the civil money penalties collected by the Bu5 reau in the action; and 

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

7 the civil money penalties collected by the Bu8 reau in the action. 

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

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

11 ‘‘(3) AWARD MINIMUM.—If the Bureau collects 

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

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

14 single whistleblower equal to the greater of— 

15 ‘‘(A) 10 percent of the civil money pen16 alties collected; or 

17 ‘‘(B) $50,000. 

18 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD; DE19 NIAL OF AWARD.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

21 AWARD.— 

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

23 the percentage amount of an award made under 

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

25 Bureau. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining the per2 centage amount of an award made under sub3 section (b), the Bureau shall take into consider4 ation— 

5 ‘‘(i) the significance of the informa6 tion provided by the whistleblower to the 

7 successful enforcement of the administra8 tive proceeding or court action; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the degree of assistance provided 

10 by the whistleblower and any legal rep11 resentative of the whistleblower in an ad12 ministrative proceeding or court action; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the programmatic interest of the 

14 Bureau in deterring violations of Federal 

15 consumer financial law (including applica16 ble regulations) by making awards to whis17 tleblowers who provide information that 

18 leads to the successful enforcement of such 

19 laws; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) such additional relevant factors 

21 as the Bureau may establish by rule or 

22 regulation, including the amount available 

23 in the Fund. 

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

25 subsection (b) shall be made— 


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

2 the time the whistleblower acquired the original 

3 information submitted to the Bureau, a mem4 ber, officer, or employee of an entity described 

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

6 (h)(1)(C)(i); 

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

8 of a criminal violation related to the adminis9 trative proceeding or court action for which the 

10 whistleblower otherwise could receive an award 

11 under this section; 

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

13 be liable for the conduct in the administrative 

14 proceeding or court action, or a related action, 

15 for which the whistleblower otherwise could re16 ceive an award under this section; 

17 ‘‘(D) to any whistleblower who planned 

18 and initiated the conduct at issue in the admin19 istrative proceeding or court action for which 

20 the whistleblower otherwise could receive an 

21 award under this section; 

22 ‘‘(E) to any whistleblower who submits in23 formation to the Bureau that is based on the 

24 facts underlying the administrative proceeding 


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1 or court action previously submitted by another 

2 whistleblower; and 

3 ‘‘(F) to any whistleblower who fails to sub4 mit information to the Bureau in such form as 

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

6 ‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PERMITTED REPRESENTATION.—Any 

8 whistleblower who makes a claim for an award under 

9 subsection (b) may be represented by counsel. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 

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

12 who anonymously makes a claim for an award 

13 under subsection (b) shall be represented by 

14 counsel if the whistleblower submits the infor15 mation upon which the claim is based. 

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

17 the payment of an award, a whistleblower shall 

18 disclose the identity of the whistleblower and 

19 provide such other information as the Bureau 

20 may require, directly or through counsel of the 

21 whistleblower. 

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

23 other agreement with the Bureau is necessary for any 

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


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1 unless otherwise required by the Bureau by rule or regula2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(f) APPEALS.— 

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

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

6 what amount to make awards, shall be in the discre7 tion of the Bureau. Any such determination, except 

8 the determination of the amount of an award if the 

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

10 may be appealed to the appropriate court of appeals 

11 of the United States not more than 30 days after 

12 the determination is issued by the Bureau. 

13 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—The court shall re14 view the determination made by the Bureau in ac15 cordance with section 706 of title 5, United States 

16 Code. 

17 ‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than De18 cember 31 of each year, the Bureau shall transmit to the 

19 House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate 

20 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs a re21 port on the Bureau’s whistleblower award program under 

22 this section, including a description of the number of 

23 awards granted and the types of cases in which awards 

24 were granted during the preceding fiscal year. 

25 ‘‘(h) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

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

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

4 any officer or employee of the Bureau, shall not 

5 disclose any information, including information 

6 provided by a whistleblower to the Bureau, 

7 which could reasonably be expected to reveal 

8 the identity of a whistleblower, except in ac9 cordance with the provisions of section 552a of 

10 title 5, United States Code, unless and until re11 quired to be disclosed to a defendant or re12 spondent in connection with a public proceeding 

13 instituted by the Bureau or any entity described 

14 in subparagraph (C). For purposes of section 

15 552 of title 5, United States Code, this para16 graph shall be considered a statute described in 

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

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

19 is intended to limit the ability of the Attorney 

20 General to present such evidence to a grand 

21 jury or to share such evidence with potential 

22 witnesses or defendants in the course of an on23 going criminal investigation. 

24 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO GOVERNMENT

25 AGENCIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss 

2 of its status as confidential in the hands of 

3 the Bureau, all information referred to in 

4 subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion of 

5 the Bureau, when determined by the Bu6 reau to be necessary or appropriate, be 

7 made available to— 

8 ‘‘(I) the Department of Justice; 

9 ‘‘(II) an appropriate department 

10 or agency of the Federal Government, 

11 acting within the scope of its jurisdic12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(III) a State attorney general in 

14 connection with any criminal inves15 tigation; 

16 ‘‘(IV) an appropriate department 

17 or agency of any State, acting within 

18 the scope of its jurisdiction; and 

19 ‘‘(V) a foreign regulatory author20 ity. 

21 ‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE OF INFORMA22 TION.—Each of the entities, agencies, or 

23 persons described in clause (i) shall main24 tain information described in that clause 


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1 as confidential, in accordance with the re2 quirements in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(2) RIGHTS RETAINED.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privi5 leges, or remedies of any whistleblower under section 

6 1057, any other Federal or State law, or under any 

7 collective bargaining agreement. 

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

9 have the authority to issue such rules and regulations as 

10 may be necessary or appropriate to implement the provi11 sions of this section consistent with the purposes of this 

12 section. 

13 ‘‘(j) ORIGINAL INFORMATION.—Information sub14 mitted to the Bureau by a whistleblower in accordance 

15 with rules or regulations implementing this section shall 

16 not lose its status as original information solely because 

17 the whistleblower submitted such information prior to the 

18 effective date of such rules or regulations, provided such 

19 information was submitted after the date of enactment of 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(k) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whis22 tleblower who knowingly and willfully makes any false, fic23 titious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or who 

24 makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the 

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1 ment or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 

2 this section and shall be subject to prosecution under sec3 tion 1001 of title 18, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(l) UNENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN AGREE5 MENTS.— 

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

7 Except as provided under paragraph (3), and not8 withstanding any other provision of law, the rights 

9 and remedies provided for in this section may not be 

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

11 of employment, including by any predispute arbitra12 tion agreement. 

13 ‘‘(2) NO PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE14 MENTS.—Except as provided under paragraph (3), 

15 and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 

16 predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or 

17 enforceable to the extent that the agreement re18 quires arbitration of a dispute arising under this 

19 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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