Title: CFPB Constitutional Reform Act of 2017
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
CFPB Constitutional Reform Act of 2017
This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to revise the leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Specifically, the bill replaces the CFPB's director and deputy director with a five-person commission.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1018 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1018

To replace the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
          with a 5-person commission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2017

Mr. DesJarlais (for himself and Mr. Duncan of Tennessee) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To replace the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
          with a 5-person commission, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``CFPB Constitutional Reform Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. REPLACING THE DIRECTOR WITH A 5-PERSON COMMISSION.

    The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 1011--
                    (A) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d);
                    (B) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 
                (h); and
                    (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsections:
    ``(b) Bureau Headed by a Commission.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Bureau shall be headed by a 
        commission, as provided under this subsection.
            ``(2) Composition of the commission.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The commission shall be composed 
                of 5 members who shall be appointed by the President, 
                by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from 
                among individuals who--
                            ``(i) are citizens of the United States; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) have strong competencies and 
                        experiences related to consumer financial 
                        products and services.
                    ``(B) Staggering.--The members of the commission 
                shall serve staggered terms, which initially shall be 
                established by the President for terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, 
                and 5 years, respectively.
                    ``(C) Terms.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided under 
                        subparagraph (B), each member of the 
                        commission, including the Chair, shall serve 
                        for a term of 5 years.
                            ``(ii) Removal.--The President may remove 
                        any member of the commission for inefficiency, 
                        neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
                            ``(iii) Vacancies.--Any member of the 
                        commission appointed to fill a vacancy 
                        occurring before the expiration of the term to 
                        which that member's predecessor was appointed 
                        (including the Chair) shall be appointed only 
                        for the remainder of the term.
                            ``(iv) Continuation of service.--Each 
                        member of the commission may continue to serve 
                        after the expiration of the term of office to 
                        which that member was appointed until a 
                        successor has been appointed by the President 
                        and confirmed by the Senate, except that a 
                        member may not continue to serve more than 1 
                        year after the date on which that member's term 
                        would otherwise expire.
                            ``(v) Other employment prohibited.--No 
                        member of the commission shall engage in any 
                        other business, vocation, or employment.
    ``(c) Affiliation.--Not more than 3 members of the commission shall 
be members of any one political party.
    ``(d) Chair.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--The Chair of the commission shall be 
        appointed by the President from among the members of the 
        commission.
            ``(2) Authority.--The Chair shall be the principal 
        executive officer of the commission, and shall exercise all of 
        the executive and administrative functions of the commission, 
        including with respect to--
                    ``(A) the appointment and supervision of personnel 
                employed under the commission (other than personnel 
                employed regularly and full time in the immediate 
                offices of members of the commission other than the 
                Chair);
                    ``(B) the distribution of business among personnel 
                appointed and supervised by the Chair and among 
                administrative units of the commission; and
                    ``(C) the use and expenditure of funds.
            ``(3) Limitation.--In carrying out any of the Chair's 
        functions under the provisions of this subsection the Chair 
        shall be governed by general policies of the commission and by 
        such regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations as the 
        commission may by law be authorized to make.
    ``(e) No Impairment by Reason of Vacancies.--No vacancy in the 
members of the commission shall impair the right of the remaining 
members of the commission to exercise all the powers of the commission. 
Three members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business, except that if there are only 3 members 
serving on the commission because of vacancies in the commission, 2 
members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 
of business. If there are only 2 members serving on the commission 
because of vacancies in the commission, 2 members shall constitute a 
quorum for the 6-month period beginning on the date of the vacancy 
which caused the number of commission members to decline to 2.
    ``(f) Seal.--The Commission shall have an official seal.
    ``(g) Compensation.--
            ``(1) Chair.--The Chair shall receive compensation at the 
        rate prescribed for level I of the Executive Schedule under 
        section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(2) Other members of the commission.--The 4 other members 
        of the commission shall each receive compensation at the rate 
        prescribed for level II of the Executive Schedule under section 
        5314 of title 5, United States Code.''.

SEC. 3. DEEMING OF NAME.

    Any reference in a law, regulation, document, paper, or other 
record of the United States to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection shall be deemed a reference to the Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2), 
        the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 
        et seq.) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``Director of the Bureau'' each 
                place such term appears, other than where such term is 
                used to refer to a Director other than the Director of 
                the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and 
                inserting ``Bureau'';
                    (B) by striking ``Director'' each place such term 
                appears and inserting ``Bureau'', other than where such 
                term is used to refer to a Director other than the 
                Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
                Protection; and
                    (C) in section 1002, by striking paragraph (10).
            (2) Exceptions.--The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 
        2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended--
                    (A) in section 1013(c)(3)--
                            (i) by striking ``Assistant Director of the 
                        Bureau for'' and inserting ``Head of the Office 
                        of''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``Assistant Director'' and inserting ``Head of 
                        the Office'';
                    (B) in section 1013(g)(2)--
                            (i) by striking ``Assistant director'' and 
                        inserting ``Head of the office''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``an assistant director'' 
                        and inserting ``a Head of the Office of 
                        Financial Protection for Older Americans'';
                    (C) in section 1016(a), by striking ``Director of 
                the Bureau'' and inserting ``Chair of the Bureau'';
                    (D) in section 1017(c)(1), by striking ``Director 
                and other'';
                    (E) in section 1027(l)(1), by striking ``Director 
                and the Bureau'' and inserting ``Chair and the 
                Bureau''; and
                    (F) in section 1066(a), by striking ``Director of 
                the Bureau is'' and inserting ``first member of the 
                Bureau is''.
    (b) Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.--The 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 
5301 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 111(b)(1)(D), by striking ``Director of the 
        Bureau'' and inserting ``Chair of the Bureau''; and
            (2) in section 1447, by striking ``Director of the Bureau'' 
        each place such term appears and inserting ``Bureau''.
    (c) Electronic Fund Transfer Act.--Section 921(a)(4)(C) of the 
Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)(4)(C)) is amended by 
striking ``Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection'' 
and inserting ``Bureau''.
    (d) Expedited Funds Availability Act.--The Expedited Funds 
Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended by striking 
``Director of the'' each place such term appears.
    (e) Federal Deposit Insurance Act.--Section 2 of the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1812) is amended by striking 
``Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau'' each place 
such term appears and inserting ``Chair of the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection''.
    (f) Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 
1978.--Section 1004(a)(4) of the Federal Financial Institutions 
Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3303(a)(4)) is amended by 
striking ``Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau'' and 
inserting ``Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection''.
    (g) Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act.--Section 513 
of the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 
9702) is amended by striking ``Director of the Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection'' each place such term appears and inserting 
``Chair of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection''.
    (h) Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975.--Section 307 of the Home 
Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 is amended by striking ``Director of 
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection'' each place such term 
appears and inserting ``Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection''.
    (i) Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act.--The Interstate Land 
Sales Full Disclosure Act is amended--
            (1) by amending section 1402(1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) `Chair' means the Chair of the Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection;''; and
            (2) in section 1416(a), by striking ``Director of the 
        Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection'' and inserting 
        ``Chair''.
    (j) Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974.--Section 5 of 
the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Director of the Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection (hereafter in this section referred to as 
        the `Director')'' and inserting ``The Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection''; and
            (2) by striking ``Director'' each place such term appears 
        and inserting ``Bureau''.
    (k) S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008.--The S.A.F.E. Mortgage 
Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Director'' each place such term appears 
        in headings and text and inserting ``Bureau'';
            (2) by striking ``director'' each place such term appears 
        in headings and inserting ``Bureau''; and
            (3) in section 1503, by striking paragraph (10).
    (l) Title 44, United States Code.--Section 3513(c) of title 44, 
United States Code is amended by striking ``Director of the Bureau'' 
and inserting ``Bureau''.
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