I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5484 
To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to provide for 
whistleblower incentives and protection. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 5, 2021 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Compensa-
tion for CFPB Whistleblowers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. BUREAU WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PRO-
TECTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Consumer Financial Protec-
tion Act (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end of section 1017 the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 1017A. WHISTLEBLOWER INCENTIVES AND PROTEC-
TION. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING OR COURT 
ACTION.—The term ‘administrative proceeding or 
court action’ means any judicial or administrative 
action brought by the Bureau that results in mone-
tary sanctions greater than or equal to $1,000,000. 
‘‘(2) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Con-
sumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund established 
under section 1017(d)(1). 
‘‘(3) MONETARY SANCTIONS.—The term ‘mone-
tary sanctions’ means, with respect to any adminis-
trative proceeding or court action, any monies, in-
cluding penalties, disgorgement, restitution, dam-
ages, interest, ordered to be paid or other amounts 
of relief obtained under section 1055(a)(2). 
‘‘(4) 
ORIGINAL
INFORMATION.—The 
term 
‘original information’ means information that— 
‘‘(A) is derived from the independent 
knowledge or analysis of a whistleblower; 
‘‘(B) is not known to the Bureau from any 
other source, unless the whistleblower is the 
original source of the information; 
‘‘(C) is not exclusively derived from an al-
legation made in a judicial or administrative 
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hearing, in a governmental report, hearing, or 
from the news media, unless the whistleblower 
is a source of the information; and 
‘‘(D) is not exclusively derived from an al-
legation made in an audit, examination, or in-
vestigation. 
‘‘(5) SUCCESSFUL
ENFORCEMENT.—The term 
‘successful enforcement’ includes, with respect to 
any administrative proceeding or court action 
brought by the Bureau, any settlement of such pro-
ceeding or action. 
‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistle-
blower’ means any individual, or 2 or more individ-
uals acting jointly, who provides original information 
relating to a violation of Federal consumer financial 
law, consistent with any rule or regulation issued by 
the Bureau under this section. 
‘‘(b) AWARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any administrative pro-
ceeding or court action the Bureau, subject to regu-
lations prescribed by the Bureau and subject to sub-
section (c), shall pay an award or awards to 1 or 
more whistleblowers who voluntarily provided origi-
nal information that led to the successful enforce-
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ment of the covered administrative proceeding or 
court action in an aggregate amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) not less than 10 percent, in total, of 
what has been collected of the monetary sanc-
tions imposed in the action; and 
‘‘(B) not more than 30 percent, in total, of 
what has been collected of the monetary sanc-
tions imposed in the action. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF AWARDS.—Any amount paid 
under paragraph (1) shall be paid from the Fund. 
‘‘(3) AWARD MINIMUM.—If the Bureau is un-
able to collect at least $1,000,000 of the monetary 
sanctions imposed in the action, the Bureau shall 
provide for an award to any single whistleblower 
equal to the greater of— 
‘‘(A) 10 percent of the amount collected; or 
‘‘(B) $50,000. 
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AWARD; DE-
NIAL OF AWARD.— 
‘‘(1) 
DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNT
OF 
AWARD.— 
‘‘(A) DISCRETION.—The determination of 
the percentage amount of an award made under 
subsection (b) shall be in the discretion of the 
Bureau. 
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‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining the per-
centage amount of an award made under sub-
section (b), the Bureau shall take into consider-
ation— 
‘‘(i) the significance of the informa-
tion provided by the whistleblower to the 
successful enforcement of the administra-
tive proceeding or court action; 
‘‘(ii) the degree of assistance provided 
by the whistleblower and any legal rep-
resentative of the whistleblower in an ad-
ministrative proceeding or court action; 
‘‘(iii) the programmatic interest of the 
Bureau in deterring violations of Federal 
consumer financial law (including applica-
ble regulations) by making awards to whis-
tleblowers who provide information that 
leads to the successful enforcement of such 
laws; and 
‘‘(iv) such additional relevant factors 
as the Bureau may establish by rule or 
regulation, including the amount available 
in the Fund. 
‘‘(2) DENIAL
OF
AWARD.—No award under 
subsection (b) shall be made— 
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or court action previously submitted by another 
whistleblower; and 
‘‘(F) to any whistleblower who fails to sub-
mit information to the Bureau in such form as 
the Bureau may, by rule or regulation, require. 
‘‘(d) REPRESENTATION.— 
‘‘(1) 
PERMITTED
REPRESENTATION.—Any 
whistleblower who makes a claim for an award under 
subsection (b) may be represented by counsel. 
‘‘(2) REQUIRED REPRESENTATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any whistleblower 
who anonymously makes a claim for an award 
under subsection (b) shall be represented by 
counsel if the whistleblower submits the infor-
mation upon which the claim is based. 
‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.—Prior to 
the payment of an award, a whistleblower shall 
disclose the identity of the whistleblower and 
provide such other information as the Bureau 
may require, directly or through counsel of the 
whistleblower. 
‘‘(e) NO CONTRACT NECESSARY.—No contract or 
other agreement with the Bureau is necessary for any 
whistleblower to receive an award under subsection (b), 
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unless otherwise required by the Bureau by rule or regula-
tion. 
‘‘(f) APPEALS.—Any determination made under this 
section, including whether, to whom, or in what amount 
to make awards, shall be in the discretion of the Bureau. 
Any such determination, except the determination of the 
amount of an award if the award was made in accordance 
with subsection (b), may be appealed to the appropriate 
court of appeals of the United States not more than 30 
days after the determination is issued by the Bureau. The 
court shall review the determination made by the Bureau 
in accordance with section 706 of title 5. 
‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than De-
cember 31 of each year, the Bureau shall transmit to the 
House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs a re-
port on the Bureau’s whistleblower award program under 
this section, including a description of the number of 
awards granted and the types of cases in which awards 
were granted during the preceding fiscal year. 
‘‘(h) PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 
‘‘(1) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Bureau and 
any officer or employee of the Bureau, shall not 
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disclose any information, including information 
provided by a whistleblower to the Bureau, 
which could reasonably be expected to reveal 
the identity of a whistleblower, except in ac-
cordance with the provisions of section 552a of 
title 5, United States Code, unless and until re-
quired to be disclosed to a defendant or re-
spondent in connection with a public proceeding 
instituted by the Bureau or any entity described 
in subparagraph (C). For purposes of section 
552 of title 5, United States Code, this para-
graph shall be considered a statute described in 
subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 552. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this paragraph 
is intended to limit the ability of the Attorney 
General to present such evidence to a grand 
jury or to share such evidence with potential 
witnesses or defendants in the course of an on-
going criminal investigation. 
‘‘(C) 
AVAILABILITY
TO
GOVERNMENT 
AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without the loss 
of its status as confidential in the hands of 
the Bureau, all information referred to in 
subparagraph (A) may, in the discretion of 
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the Bureau, when determined by the Bu-
reau to be necessary or appropriate, be 
made available to— 
‘‘(I) the Department of Justice; 
‘‘(II) an appropriate department 
or agency of the Federal Government, 
acting within the scope of its jurisdic-
tion; 
‘‘(III) a State attorney general in 
connection with any criminal inves-
tigation; 
‘‘(IV) an appropriate department 
or agency of any State, acting within 
the scope of its jurisdiction; and 
‘‘(V) a foreign regulatory author-
ity. 
‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE
OF
INFORMA-
TION.—Each of the entities, agencies, or 
persons described in clause (i) shall main-
tain information described in that clause 
as confidential, in accordance with the re-
quirements in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) RIGHTS RETAINED.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privi-
leges, or remedies of any whistleblower under section 
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1057, any other Federal or State law, or under any 
collective bargaining agreement. 
‘‘(i) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Bureau shall 
have the authority to issue such rules and regulations as 
may be necessary or appropriate to implement the provi-
sions of this section consistent with the purposes of this 
section. 
‘‘(j) ORIGINAL
INFORMATION.—Information sub-
mitted to the Bureau by a whistleblower in accordance 
with rules or regulations implementing this section shall 
not lose its status as original information solely because 
the whistleblower submitted such information prior to the 
effective date of such rules or regulations, provided such 
information was submitted after the date of enactment of 
this section. 
‘‘(k) PROVISION OF FALSE INFORMATION.—A whis-
tleblower who knowingly and willfully makes any false, fic-
titious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or who 
makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the 
same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent state-
ment or entry, shall not be entitled to an award under 
this section and shall be subject to prosecution under sec-
tion 1001 of title 18, United States Code. 
‘‘(l) UNENFORCEABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
AGREE-
MENTS.— 
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