- ConsumersPreserves CFPB guidance intended to limit improper overdraft opt-in practices, protecting consumers from certain fees.
- Potential benefitMaintains regulatory clarity and supervisory expectations for banks, credit unions, and fintech account practices.
- ConsumersReduces risk of consumers incurring additional or deceptive overdraft charges tied to opt-in enrollments.
Disapprove CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-05: Improper Overdr…
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 386.
This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to overturn an agency action that would withdraw a prior consumer-protection circular. If Congress approves this joint resolution and the President signs it (or Congress overrides a veto), the agency's withdrawal will have no force or effect and the earlier circular effectively remains in place. The CRA also bars the agency from issuing a new rule that is substantially the same without new legislation. The Senate considers CRA disapprovals under expedited procedures to allow passage by a simple majority.
The rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection withdrawing "Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-05: Improper Overdraft Opt-In Practices" (90 Fed. Reg. 20084 (May 12, 2025)).
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB)
CRA disapproval resolutions use expedited procedures in the Senate and are not subject to a filibuster, so they can pass with a simple majority; as a joint resolution it must be approved by both chambers and presented to the President for signature or veto.
This joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act would disapprove the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s rule that withdrew Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024–05 (Improper Overdraft Opt-In Practices).
If enacted, the CFPB action withdrawing that circular (90 Fed.
Reg. 20084 (May 12, 2025)) would have no force or effect, effectively preserving the original circular (89 Fed.
Narrow administrative action with low fiscal impact but politically aligned stakes; success depends on congressional majority and Senate procedural hurdles.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a conventional Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution: it precisely identifies the targeted rule, invokes the applicable statutory authority, and uses standard operative language to nullify the rule.
Progressives emphasize consumer protection and CFPB authority preservation.
Who stands to gain, and who may push back.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
- Potential burdenContinues compliance costs for deposit-taking institutions to implement and document adherence to the circular.
- Potential burdenMay reduce overdraft fee revenue that some institutions rely on to subsidize account services.
- Potential burdenLimits CFPB discretion and executive branch flexibility to revise or withdraw supervisory guidance.
Why the argument around this bill splits.
Progressives emphasize consumer protection and CFPB authority preservation.
Likely to strongly support the resolution as restoring or preserving a consumer-protection guidance aimed at curbing improper overdraft opt-in practices.
Views it as accountability for financial firms and maintenance of CFPB oversight.
Generally supportive but cautious.
Values consumer protections but worries about procedural use of CRA and unintended effects on small banks and regulatory clarity.
Likely to oppose the resolution as preserving agency guidance viewed as regulatory overreach that limits financial product innovation and increases compliance burden.
The path through Congress.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow administrative action with low fiscal impact but politically aligned stakes; success depends on congressional majority and Senate procedural hurdles.
- Current congressional majority willingness to use CRA
- Intensity of lobbying by banks or consumer groups
Recent votes on the bill.
The Senate declined to take up this bill. It cannot be debated or voted on unless the motion is tried again.
Go deeper than the headline read.
Progressives emphasize consumer protection and CFPB authority preservation.
Narrow administrative action with low fiscal impact but politically aligned stakes; success depends on congressional majority and Senate pr…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a conventional Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution: it precisely identifies the targeted rule, invokes the applicable statutory authority, and uses sta…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.