Protecting American Consumers Act

119th Congress Introduced by Angela Alsobrooks and 9 co-sponsors

The bill would establish a mandatory funding floor for the CFPB equal to 12% of the Federal Reserve’s operating expenses, tying its budget to the Fed.

Introduced in Senate

Overview

The Protecting American Consumers Act (S. 4684, 119th Congress) amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish a funding floor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The bill would require the CFPB to receive a minimum level of funding each fiscal year equal to a fixed share of the Federal Reserve System’s operating expenses, tying the CFPB’s budget to the Fed’s reported costs.

Primary purpose and intent

Create a compulsory funding floor for the CFPB to ensure a stable, minimum level of annual resources.

Align the CFPB’s funding with a defined percentage of the Federal Reserve System’s operating expenses, aiming to safeguard and potentially expand the Bureau’s capacity to supervise and enforce consumer financial protection laws.

Key provisions and changes

Funding floor standard: Section 1017(a)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act is amended so that the CFPB’s annual transfer must be:

Not less than 12 percent of the total operating expenses of the Federal Reserve System, as reported in the Federal Reserve Board’s 2009 Annual Report.

Amendments to subparagraphs: The provision clarifies the mechanism by:

Setting the minimum transfer amount to 12 percent of Fed operating expenses.
Replacing a prior reference with a streamlined designation, reinforcing the fixed-floor approach.

Who or what would be affected

The CFPB: Subject to an explicit funding floor, influencing its annual budget and potentially its hiring, operations, and enforcement activities.

The Federal Reserve System (and its reporting): The funding floor is tied to Fed operating expenses as reported in a specific historical annual report (2009). This creates a link between the Fed’s budget disclosure and the CFPB’s funding.

Federal budget processes: The bill would alter the funding trajectory and stability for the CFPB within the broader federal budgeting framework.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduction date: June 4, 2026.

Referral: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Action history shows standard initial steps (read twice, referred to committee) with no further legislative steps provided in the text.

The funding floor would take effect in the fiscal year calculations as mandated, subject to future Congress actions (approval of annual appropriations still required for actual transfers).

Additional notes

The bill is sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, with multiple co-sponsors, signaling organizational support across party lines.

The text provided does not specify additional programmatic changes beyond the funding floor, focusing primarily on budgetary autonomy and reliability for the CFPB.