jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-05-11 00:00:00

Overdraft Protection Act of 2016

This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a depository institution from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with overdraft coverage, or in acts designed to evade the provisions of this Act.

Each depository institution that offers or provides overdraft coverage for transaction accounts held at the institution shall clearly and conspicuously disclose overdraft coverage fees. It must also disclose that, if a consumer does not opt-in to such overdraft coverage:

 the consumer's transaction may be declined if there are insufficient funds in the related transaction account, and the consumer will not be charged a fee if such transaction is declined. A depository institution may charge overdraft coverage fees in connection with use of an automatic teller machine (ATM) or point of sale transaction only if the consumer has consented in writing, in electronic form, or in another form permitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A depository institution must provide specified consumer disclosures regarding its overdraft protection program, including:

 periodic statements for any transaction account that has an overdraft coverage program feature; prompt notification of the account's overdraft status; and the overdraft coverage fee as an annual percentage rate, permitting consumers to compare meaningfully the overdraft coverage to alternative forms of overdraft options and other sources of credit. The bill prescribes overdraft coverage fee limits.

The bill prohibits an overdraft coverage fee if the overdraft results solely from a debit hold amount that exceeds the actual dollar amount of the transaction.

A depository institution shall provide consumers who have not consented to participate in an overdraft coverage program transaction accounts with the same terms as those provided to consumers who have consented to participate in such program.

The bill prohibits a depository institution from:

 charging a non-sufficient fund fee for any ATM or debit card transaction, or reporting negative information regarding consumer use of overdraft coverage to any consumer reporting agency when the overdraft amounts and coverage fees are paid under the terms of an overdraft coverage program.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-05-12 00:00:00

CFPB Dual Mandate and Economic Analysis Act

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to revise the purpose of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding competition in markets for consumer financial products and services. The CFPB shall implement and, where applicable, enforce federal consumer financial law consistently for the purpose of strengthening private sector participation in markets, without government interference or subsidies, to increase competition and enhance consumer choice.

The CFPB shall establish an Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) to:

 review all CFPB proposed guidance, orders, rules and regulations; assess their impact on consumer choice, price, and access to credit products; assess them again after 1, 2, 5, and 10 years; measure the success of the rule, regulation, guidance, or order in solving the problem it was intended to solve when issued; and report on these reviews and assessments in the Federal Register. Before issuing any guidance, order, rule, or regulation, the CFPB shall consider the OEA's review and assessment of it, giving notice and explanation if the CFPB disagrees with the OEA.

The CFPB shall also, in each proposed rulemaking, identify the problem the particular rule or regulations is seeking to solve, and specify the metrics by which success in solving the problem will be measured.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Housing and community development
Date: 2016-05-19 00:00:00

Seller Finance Enhancement Act

 This bill amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to exempt from certain licensing and registration requirements any person (other than a depository institution) who: (1) originates not more than 24 residential mortgage loans in a 12-month period, and (2) only originates residential mortgage loans for property owned by that person.

For determining whether a residential mortgage loan meets minimum standards, the Truth in Lending Act is amended to prohibit the application to loans originated by such a person certain Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidelines and regulations relating to ratios of total monthly debt to monthly income.

 The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of the Treasury shall study:

 the number of homes bought for under $150,000 or 60% of the median home value in a given community, whichever is lower, in the United States by utilizing seller financing; the number of such homes sold by licensed mortgage brokers; the potential number of such homes which could be sold but are not, because seller financiers are unwilling, or from a practical standpoint unable, to comply with mortgage broker rules; and the potential benefit to home values and wealth creation if more homes are able to be sold utilizing seller finance.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-08 00:00:00

CFPB Data Accountability Act

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to prescribe requirements for the consumer complaint website the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) must establish.

The CFPB may only make consumer complaint information available to the public on the website in an aggregated format and after taking steps to ensure that proprietary, personal, or confidential consumer information is not made public.

The CFPB must verify any consumer complaint information where the complaint alleges a violation of a law, regulation, or contractual agreement between a consumer and a covered person who offered or provided the consumer financial product or service.

The CFPB may only make such information available if the CFPB accompanies it with statistics on how many consumer complaints it receives regarding the particular consumer financial product or service compared to the total number of consumers making use of that consumer financial product or service.

The CFPB shall comply with all guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001, as enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by federal agencies in fulfillment of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-09 00:00:00

Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2016

This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to redefine: (1) "debt" to include any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay a loan, an overpayment, a fine, penalty, a fee, or other money owed currently or originally to a federal agency and that is at least 180 days past due; and (2) "debt collector" to include any person who regularly collects debts currently or originally owed or allegedly owed to a federal agency.

A federal agency that is a creditor may sell or transfer a debt to a debt collector beginning 90 days after the obligation or alleged obligation becomes delinquent or defaults.

The Act is further amended by making the collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) an unfair practice unless:

 the amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law (as under current law); and in the case of a debt owed a federal agency as specified in this bill, the collection charge is reasonable in relation to actual collection costs, is authorized by a contract between the debt collector and the federal agency, and does not exceed 10% of the amount the debt collector collects. The Government Accountability Office shall study the use of debt collectors by federal, state, and local government agencies.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-10 00:00:00

Bureau Advisory Opinion Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish a procedure and promulgate rules to provide written opinions in response to inquiries concerning conformance of specific proposed or prospective conduct by a covered person with federal consumer financial law.

A "covered person" under the Act is: (1) any person that engages in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service, and (2) any affiliate of that person if the affiliate acts as a service provider to the person.

The CFPB, within 90 days of receiving such a request for an opinion, shall:

 issue an opinion stating whether the described conduct would violate federal consumer financial law, deny the request, or explain why it is not feasible to issue an opinion. The CFPB shall not issue an opinion on a general question of interpretation, a hypothetical situation, conduct of someone other than the requester, or past conduct the covered person doesn't plan to continue.

A request may be withdrawn at any time prior to the CFPB issuing a response. An issued advisory opinion may be amended or revoked at any time.

An opinion rendered pursuant to this bill shall be placed in the CFPB's public record 90 days after the requesting party has received the advice, subject to specified limitations on public disclosure.

Any person may rely on an opinion issued by the CFPB that has not been amended or withdrawn and liability shall not attach to conduct consistent with such opinion.

The CFPB shall implement a system to charge a fee for such inquiries sufficient to pay the costs of carrying out this bill.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-10 00:00:00

Protecting Consumer Financial Information Act

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to limit the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in conducting any required monitoring or assessment, to gather information from time to time regarding the organization, business conduct, markets, and activities of covered persons and service providers. The CFPB may gather information only on a sampling basis.

The bill repeals CFPB authority to gather and compile information from examination reports concerning covered persons or service providers. It also prohibits the CFPB from using its authorities to obtain records from covered persons and service providers participating in consumer financial services markets for purposes of assessing their compliance with the requirements of federal consumer financial law.

The bill also repeals the CFPB:

 mandate to require reports and conduct periodic examinations of nondepository covered persons for purposes of detecting and assessing risks to consumers and to markets for consumer financial products and services, exclusive authority and mandate to require reports and conduct periodic examinations for the same purposes of insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with over $10 billion in assets (and their affiliates), and authority to require reports and conduct periodic examinations for the same purposes of insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with $10 billion or less in assets.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-06-14 00:00:00

Boosting Equity for the American Middle Class Act of 2016 or the BEAM Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit equal to 50% of the excess home mortgage principal payments made by a taxpayer during the year.

The credit is limited to $500 per year and to taxpayers who have not received the credit for any of the 10 preceding years. The bill reduces the amount of the credit for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes above specified levels.

An "excess home mortgage principal payment" is the excess of: (1) the amount of principal paid by the taxpayer with respect to a mortgage during the year, over (2) the amount of principal the taxpayer would have paid by making each required payment on a timely basis under the terms of the mortgage (and no other payments).

The mortgage must: (1) be for a primary residence, (2) for a term between 15 and 30 years, and (3) require payments that are each the same amount and made in equal intervals during the term of the mortgage (or if any payment is required at a different interval, the amount of the payment is adjusted in the same proportion as the change in interval).

Married individuals must file a joint tax return to claim the credit. Persons engaged in a trade or business (e.g., lenders, mortgage companies, or banks) who are required to report mortgage interest payments from individuals of $600 or more must also report the amount of excess home mortgage principal payments received during the year.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-15 00:00:00

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal the declaration that the deference that a court affords to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding its determination of the meaning or interpretation of any provision of a federal consumer financial law shall be applied as if the CFPB were the only agency authorized to apply, enforce, interpret, or administer the provisions of that law.

In any judicial review of a CFPB agency action, the reviewing court shall determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of a CFPB agency action and decide de novo all relevant questions of law, including the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions, as well as CFPB rules. No law may exempt any civil action for judicial review from the application of this bill except by specific reference to it.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

GSE Review and Reform Act of 2016

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Department of the Treasury to make annual studies (currently, just one) of specified options for ending the conservatorship of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), while minimizing the cost to taxpayers.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

Reigning In of Governmental Hostility To Sovereignty at the CFPB Act of 2016 or the RIGHTS at the CFPB Act of 2016

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to authorize any person who is a party to an adjudicative administrative proceeding brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and against whom an order imposing a cease and desist order or a penalty may be issued at the proceeding's conclusion, to require the CFPB to terminate the proceeding. The termination request must be made within 20 days after the person receives notice of the proceeding.

If such a person does require the CFPB to terminate a proceeding, the CFPB may still bring a civil action against the person for the same remedy that might be imposed.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 regarding civil investigative demands made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on a person in the course of an investigation. (Under current law, the CFPB may, before institution of any proceedings, serve a civil investigative demand on a person the CFPB has reason to believe may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or tangible things, or may have any information, relevant to a violation of federal consumer financial law.)

The bill requires the recipient of such a demand to meet and confer with a CFPB investigator within 30 calendar days after receiving the demand to discuss and attempt to resolve all issues regarding compliance with it, unless the CFPB grants an extension the recipient requests.

The deadline after the service of any civil investigative demand by which the recipient may petition for an order modifying or setting the demand aside shall extend from the current maximum of 20 days to a maximum of 45 days.

The bill eliminates the right to appeal any final order of a U.S. district court regarding such a petition.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

CFPB Rule Accountability Act of 2016

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), before any federal agency rule may take effect, to publish in the Federal Register a list of information on which the rule is based, including data, scientific and economic studies, and cost-benefit analyses, identify how the public can access such information online, and report to Congress and to the Government Accountability Office a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule.

Congress must enact a joint resolution of approval of major rules before they may take effect. If a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the CFPB reports on the rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. A major rule may take effect, however, for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement.

The bill prescribes the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules.

A joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule must be introduced within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. No amendments to such a joint resolution shall be permitted at any stage of the legislative process. The bill prescribes a procedure for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval, requiring a vote on the resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after the committee has been discharged from further consideration of it.

A court may review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this bill for a rule to take effect. No determination, finding, action, or omission under this bill shall be subject to judicial review.

The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this bill affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-21 00:00:00

Accounting for Consumer Credit and Encouraging State Solutions Act of 2016 or the ACCESS Act of 2016

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to grant to a state or federally recognized Indian tribe that submits a written request a five-year waiver from a final rule or regulation issued by the CFPB to regulate payday loans, vehicle title loans, or other similar loans.

 The state or tribe receiving a waiver shall have the right to an unlimited number of five-year extensions of such waiver.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-06-22 00:00:00

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to restrict the use of an agreement between a financial product or service provider and a consumer providing for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-06-24 00:00:00

First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for tax-preferred savings accounts for first-time homebuyers. An individual may make up to $14,000 per year in after-tax contributions to the account, subject to a $50,000 lifetime contribution limit, a $150,000 limit on the fair market value of the account, and adjustments for inflation after 2017.

Distributions from the account that are used to pay the qualified principal residence purchase expenditures of the designated beneficiary are excluded from gross income. A "qualified principal residence purchase expenditure" is, with respect to a designated beneficiary who is a first-time homebuyer, any amount: (1) paid toward the purchase price of a principal residence of the beneficiary, (2) required to be paid to settle the purchase of such residence, or (3) required to be paid by the beneficiary to obtain acquisition indebtedness with respect to the residence.

Excess contributions to the account, distributions that exceed the qualified principal residence purchase expenditures of the beneficiary, and distributions that are not used for first-time homebuyer purposes are subject to specified taxes.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-07-07 00:00:00

Wage and Garnishment Equity Act of 2016 or the WAGE Act

This bill amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to define "assignment" (of wages and earnings) to exclude payroll deductions or preauthorized payment plans and any assignment applicable only to earnings already earned.

 The bill adjusts the maximum part of a person's aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek that is subject to garnishment or assignment. Such amount shall not exceed the lesser of: (1) 10% of earnings for an individual earning $1200 or less weekly (15% for an individual earning more than $1200), or (2) the amount by which the earnings exceed 80 (currently, 30) times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect.

No employer may take any adverse employment action against an employee because the employee's earnings have been subject to garnishment or assignment.

The Department of Labor may provide the same exemption from maximum allowable garnishment requirements for state-regulated assignments as it does for state-regulated garnishments.

The bill requires specified delays of garnishment pursuant to an order directed at an employer with fewer than 50 employees.

Of the aggregate amount of an individual's funds in deposit accounts, an amount equal to the federal poverty guideline applicable to a one-person household shall be exempt and immune from attachment or seizure for any judgment related to a debt.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — Consumer Finance
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

Fair Debt Collections Practices Clarification Act of 2016

This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to permit the award of court costs and attorney fees to the defendant in an action to enforce liability for violating such Act only after finding that the action was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment.