Financial Regulatory Accountability Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-2335
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Vance, J. D. [R-OH]
Introduced: 2023-07-18
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2335 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 18, 2023 Mr. Vance (for himself, Ms. Lummis , and Mr. Marshall ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To establish within the Department of the Treasury the Office of the Special Inspector General for Financial Regulatory Abuses and Misconduct, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Financial Regulatory Accountability Act of 2023 . 2. Special Inspector General for Financial Regulatory Abuses and Misconduct (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; (B) the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (2) Covered agencies The term covered agencies means— (A) the Securities and Exchange Commission; (B) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (C) the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; (D) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (E) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; (F) the Federal Housing Finance Agency; (G) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; and (H) the National Credit Union Administration. (b) Office of Inspector General There is hereby established within the Department of the Treasury the Office of the Special Inspector General for Financial Regulatory Abuses and Misconduct. (c) Appointment of Inspector General; removal; basic pay (1) In general The head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Financial Regulatory Abuses and Misconduct shall be the Special Inspector General for Financial Regulatory Abuses and Misconduct (referred to in this section as the Special Inspector General ), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (2) Nomination The nomination of the Special Inspector General shall be made on the basis of integrity and demonstrated familiarity with the financial sector and industry, in addition to an ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, securities regulation, prudential banking regulation, derivatives regulation, public administration, or investigations. (3) Removal The Special Inspector General shall be removable from office in accordance with the provisions of section 403(b) of title 5, United States Code. (4) Basic pay The annual rate of basic pay of the Special Inspector General shall be the annual rate of basic pay for an Inspector General under section 403(e) of title 5, United States Code. (d) Duties (1) In general It shall be the duty of the Special Inspector General to, in accordance with section 404(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code— (A) receive, review, and investigate allegations from entities regulated by the covered agencies regarding supervisory, regulatory, and examination abuses and misconduct at any of the covered agencies with respect to the industry overseen by the applicable covered agency, including any ideological bias demonstrated by the covered agency or any employee of the covered agency; and (B) make recommendations to the applicable covered agency and to the appropriate committees of Congress regarding— (i) measures that the covered agency should take to remedy any abuses or misconduct described in subparagraph (A); and (ii) any employee of the covered agency that the Special Inspector General determines, after a review or investigation described in subparagraph (A), should face disciplinary action (including removal) as a result of abuses or misconduct described in that subparagraph. (2) Maintenance of systems The Special Inspector General shall establish, maintain, and oversee such systems, procedures, and controls as the Special Inspector General considers appropriate to discharge the duties of the Special Inspector General under paragraph (1). (3) Additional duties and responsibilities In addition to the duties described in paragraphs (1) and (2), the Special Inspector General shall also have the duties and responsibilities of inspectors general under chapter 4 of title 5, United States Code. (4) Confidentiality of information The Special Inspector General shall maintain the confidentiality of the identity of any person, employing entity, or regulated entity submitting information to the Special Inspector General for the purposes of carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector General under this section, including in any report submitted under subsection (g). (e) Powers and authorities (1) In general In carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector General under subsection (d), the Special Inspector General shall have the authorities provided in section 406 of title 5, United States Code. (2) Treatment of Office The Office of the Special Inspector General shall be considered to be an office described in section 406(f)(3) of title 5, United States Code, and shall be exempt from an initial determination by the Attorney General under section 406(f)(2) of that title. (f) Personnel, facilities, and other resources (1) Appointment of officers and employees (A) In general The Special Inspector General may select, appoint, and employ such officers and employees as may be necessary for carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector General. (B) Status The positions to which officers and employees are appointed under subparagraph (A) shall be positions in schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulations. (2) Experts and consultants The Special Inspector General may obtain services as authorized under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at daily rates not to exceed the equivalent rate prescribed for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule by section 5332 of that title. (3) Contracts The Special Inspector General may enter into contracts and other arrangements for audits, studies, analyses, and other services with public agencies and with private persons, and make such payments as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Special Inspector General. (4) Requests for information (A) In general Upon request of the Special Inspector General for information or assistance from any department, agency, or other entity of the Federal Government, including from any covered agency, the head of that department, agency, or entity shall, to the extent practicable and not in contravention of any existing law, furnish that information or assistance to the Special Inspector General, or an authorized designee. (B) Refusal to provide requested information Whenever information or assistance requested by the Special Inspector General is, in the judgment of the Special Inspector General, unreasonably refused or not provided, the Special Inspector General shall report the circumstances to the appropriate committees of Congress without delay. (C) Congressional access The Special Inspector General may provide any record or other piece of information obtained under this paragraph to the appropriate committees of Congress. (g) Reports (1) Quarterly reports (A) In general Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Special Inspector General is confirmed, and once every calendar quarter thereafter, the Special Inspector General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report summarizing the activities of the Special Inspector General during the 3-month period ending on the date on which the Special Inspector General submits the report. (B) Contents Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include, for the period covered by the report, the following: (i) A general description of the allegations received and reviewed by the Special Inspector General under subsection (d)(1)(A). (ii) Recommendations of the Special Inspector General regarding reforms that the Special Inspector General believes should be undertaken with respect to the authority of the Special Inspector General and matters within the authority of the Special Inspector General to review and investigate, including the authority described in subsection (d)(1)(B). (iii) For a covered agency with respect to which an allegation submitted under this section applies, the steps that the covered agency has taken, and has yet to take, to remedy the issues outlined in the allegation. (iv) Data regarding the number of allegations received and reviewed by the Special Inspector General under this section that document legitimate acts of abuse or misconduct, as determined by the Special Inspector General, which shall— (I) be disaggregated by the number of acts of abuse or misconduct committed by each covered agency; and (II) contain a separate provision listing the number of those acts that relate to ideological bias, which shall be disaggregated as described in subclause (I). (v) Commentary by the Special Inspector General regarding the level of cooperation by each covered agency with respect to reviews and investigations performed by the Special Inspector General, including, with respect to each covered agency, whether the covered agency has implemented recommendations made by the Special Inspector General and whether the covered agency has provided information or access requested by the Special Inspector General. (2) Rule of construction Nothing in this subsection may be construed to authorize the public disclosure of information that is— (A) specifically prohibited from disclosure by any other provision of law; (B) specifically required by Executive order to be protected from disclosure in the interest of national defense or national security or in the conduct of foreign affairs; or (C) a part of an ongoing criminal investigation. (h) Funding There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 to carry out this section, which shall remain available until expended. (i) Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency The Special Inspector General shall be a member of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency established under section 424 of title 5, United States Code. (j) Corrective responses to audit problems A covered agency shall— (1) take action to address deficiencies identified by a report or investigation of the Special Inspector General; or (2) with respect to a deficiency identified under paragraph (1), certify to the appropriate committees of Congress that no action is necessary or appropriate. (k) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the authority of the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or the Inspector General of the National Credit Union Administration. 3. Limitation on regulatory authority (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered action The term covered action means— (A) the initiation by a covered agency of an enforcement action, including the issuance of a cease and desist order; or (B) the issuance by a covered agency of a matter requiring attention, a matter requiring immediate attention, or a matter requiring board attention with respect to a supervisory activity conducted by the covered agency. (2) Covered agencies The term covered agencies has the meaning given the term in section 2(a). (b) Prohibition Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, no covered agency may take any covered action against an entity supervised by the covered agency, or require such an entity to take any action, based on considerations of reputational risk.