In a ruling late last week, the Parliamentarian for the United States Senate ruled that key provisions of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” violated the Senate’s “Byrd Rule,” which requires that the reconciliation process not venture into areas of policy change.
This includes the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs’ proposal to zero out the percentage of funding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can request from the Federal Reserve. Previously, the House of Representatives had cut the percentage that the CFPB could request from 12 percent to 5 percent of the Fed’s operating expenses.
The Parliamentarian’s ruling was not unexpected. Defunding the CFPB or forcing it to live off funding from penalties would severely limit the bureau’s ability to carry out its functions required by Congress. Any movement to shut down the bureau will require 60 votes in the Senate, which just isn’t going to happen in this Congress.
Also included in provisions struck by the Senate Parliamentarian was a proposal that would allow the Executive branch to reorganize federal government agencies, which could include the transfer consolidation or elimination of whole agencies without Congressional oversight. IBAT was monitoring the provision out of concerns that it could result in consolidation of banking regulators.
“IBAT will combat any effort which we believe will result in a unified super regulator,” said IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston. “We believe that the dual banking system is a source of strength for the American financial services system.”
