Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, issued the following statement announcing a long list of Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions introduced by the committee to restore critical Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) guidance designed to protect consumers that were rescinded by CFPB acting Director Russell Vought:

“At a time when Americans are already being squeezed by high costs and financial uncertainty, the Trump administration is working overtime to dismantle the [CFPB], which Congress created to protect people from fraud, scams, junk fees, discrimination and abusive financial practices,” Waters said in a release. “It is troubling that [Vought] rescinded a variety of guidance to give big banks, debt collectors and predatory financial companies even more freedom to take advantage of consumers without accountability.

“Consumer protections were put into law for a reason. They help protect servicemembers from financial exploitation, prevent medical debt from destroying families’ credit, and crack down on unfair overdraft fees and other junk charges that drain billions of dollars from hardworking Americans every year,” Waters continued. “House Democrats will not stand by while Republicans and the Trump administration try to gut consumer protections and undermine the CFPB’s mission. That is why we worked with our colleagues in the Senate to introduce legislation to restore key guidance documents to ensure financial institutions follow the law and treat consumers fairly.”

Waters commended Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and other committee members for “forcing a floor debate” on the matters.

“I urge House Republicans to follow the Senate and take up these measures without delay. It is past time that they stop siding with Wall Street and predatory lenders and instead work with Democrats to advance legislation that helps the American people,” Waters concluded.

Waters introduced H.R. 8777, the “Guidance Upholding Integrity through Defending Americans’ National Consumer Enforcement (GUIDANCE) Act,” which includes 23 bills that were introduced by House Committee Democratic Members.

The bills include the following:

• H.J.Res. 170 (Waters)would restore the CFPB’s interpretative rule clarifying that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) narrowly preempts state laws and preserves broad state authority to regulate consumer reporting, including with respect to medical debt. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 129 (Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.).
• H.J.Res. 179 (Waters) would restore CFPB Circular 2022 04, which warns that inadequate data security practices may constitute an unfair act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 164 (Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.).
• H.J.Res. 178 (Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas) would restore the CFPB’s interpretative rule confirming its authority to examine financial institutions for conduct posing risks to active duty servicemembers and their dependents under the Military Lending Act. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 132 (Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.).
• H.J.Res. 167 (Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion on deceptive or unfair medical debt collection practices under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Regulation F. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 141 (Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.).
• H.J.Res. 169 (Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y.) would restore CFPB Circular 2024 05 stating that institutions must not charge overdraft fees on ATM and one time debit card transactions if consumers did not opt-in for that service. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 130 (Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.).
• H.J.Res. 160 (Rep. Al Green, D-Texas) would restore CFPB Circular 2024 04 clarifying that overly broad confidentiality agreements may violate whistleblower protections under CFPA Section 1057. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 135 (Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.).
• H.J.Res. 161 (Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio) would restore CFPB Bulletin 2012 04 on preventing unlawful lending discrimination under Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 157 (Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.).
• H.J.Res. 162 (Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion affirming that contracts for deed financing constitutes credit under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 149 (Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.).
• H.J.Res. 163 (Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La.) would restore the CFPB’s interpretive rule clarifying mortgage assumption rules for surviving family members under Regulation Z. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 146 (Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.).
• H.J.Res. 164 (Fields) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion affirming ECOA/Regulation B protections for existing borrowers against unfavorable credit term changes. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 154 (Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.).
• H.J.Res. 165 (Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo.) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion requiring accurate matching and permissible purposes for consumer reports under the FCRA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 145 (Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.).
• H.J.Res. 166 (Pettersen) would restore CFPB Bulletin 2015 07, which warns that in person debt collection visits may constitute unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 162 (Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.).
• H.J.Res. 168 (Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.) would restore CFPB Bulletin 2022 01 clarifying FDCPA and FCRA responsibilities for medical debts covered by the No Surprises Act. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 148 (Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.).
• H.J.Res. 171 (Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga.) would restore CFPB Bulletin 2022 06 finding that blanket returned deposited item fee policies are likely unfair under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 153 (Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.).
• H.J.Res. 173 (Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.) would restore CFPB Circular 2023 02 clarifying that unilaterally reopening a consumer’s closed deposit account without the consumer’s permission may constitute an unfair practice under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 143 (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.).
• H.J.Res. 175 (Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.) would restore CFPB Circular 2024 02 clarifying when remittance transfer marketing claims regarding cost or speed are deceptive under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 131 (Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.).
• H.J.Res. 177 (Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill.) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion stating that “name only matching” does not meet reasonable accuracy standards under the FCRA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 140 (Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.).
• H.J.Res. 180 (Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas) would restore the CFPB’s policy statement outlining its analytical framework for identifying abusive acts or practices under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 147 (Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.).
• H.J.Res. 181 (Garcia) would restore CFPB Circular 2022 07 requiring reasonable investigations of consumer reporting disputes. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 173 (Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.).
• H.J.Res. 182 (Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore.) would restore CFPB Bulletin 2023 01, which finds that billing or collecting on private student loans discharged in bankruptcy is an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 151 (Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii).
• H.J.Res. 183 (Bynum) would restore CFPB Circular 2023 01, which explains that negative option marketing practices can be unfair, deceptive, or abusive when companies obscure terms or make cancellation difficult. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 160 (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.).
• H.J.Res. 184 (Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.) would restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion clarifying that consumers may request their files without special wording and that consumer reporting agencies must disclose all information sources under the FCRA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 127 (Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.).
• H.J.Res. 185 (Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.) would restore CFPB Circular 2024 03, which explains that including unlawful or unenforceable terms in consumer financial contracts may constitute a deceptive act under the CFPA. The Senate companion bill is S.J.Res. 128 (Masto).