Legislation expanding the frequency, scope and coverage of annual regulatory reviews by the federal financial institution regulators was easily passed by the House Tuesday, 264 – 143.
The Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act (H.R. 4607) would require the regulators to conduct comprehensive reviews of all rules every seven years rather than the 10 years now required.
The legislation, which amends the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA), also mandates the seven-year reviews for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Previously, only the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) were covered under the law.
In addition to those provisions, H.R. 4607 (sponsored by Rep. Barry Loudermilk [R-Ga.]) requires the agencies to expand the scope of the regulatory review to include requirements imposed on individual people or on companies that offer consumer financial products or services.
The bill also compels the agencies to tailor regulations to reduce the burden on those persons or companies.
According to the bill’s summary, its aim is to “ensure that Federal financial regulators perform a comprehensive review of regulations to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on covered persons,” among other things.
The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.