news

Today the House of Representatives passed Congressman Bill Posey’s legislation to make the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) more accountable and responsive. Posey’s bipartisan reform bill, the Bureau Advisory Opinion Act (H.R. 5453), which he introduced last Congress, was included as part of the Financial CHOICE Act.

“Often federal regulations can be complicated and hard for smaller businesses to comprehend unless agencies are willing to offer further guidance,” said Congressman Posey. “Our legislation simply requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue advisory opinions, like other federal agencies already do, to help businesses requesting guidance so they can better understand and comply with the rules.”

Specifically, the Bureau Advisory Opinion Act directs the CFPB to establish a procedure to provide written opinions in response to inquiries on how to conform with specific proposed or prospective rules pertaining to federal consumer financial law. Under the bill the CFPB has 90 days to issue an opinion after receiving a request. Some federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Federal Trade Commission issue advisory opinions to give better guidance and help ensure compliance. Posey said the bill not only helps businesses comply with rules but it will also help the CFPB have a better understanding of how their rules impact industry by creating a dialog with businesses.