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H.R. 1653 · House bill · 119th Congress
This bill revises the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) civil investigative demand process. The demand process is used to gather information relevant to a violation of consumer financial law before formal proceedings.
Under the bill, such demands must be issued and served no later than six years after the date of the violation. The demand must also provide specific reference to particular facts regarding the violation.
The bill establishes a process that allows an advising attorney to submit questions on behalf of a person compelled by a demand to appear for oral testimony.
The bill also allows for judicial review if the CFPB denies a petition to set aside or modify a demand. These petitions must be treated as confidential.
In addition, the bill expands the grounds on which a petitioner may seek relief from such a demand to include a demonstration that the demand (1) is unduly burdensome, expensive, and outside the scope of the inquiry; (2) is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative; or (3) can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.
This Act may be cited as the “Civil Investigative Demand Reform Act of 2025”.
(a) Demand period.— Section 1052(c)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after “before the institution of any proceedings under the Federal consumer financial law” the following: “, but not later than 6 years after the date of such violation”.
(b) Demand requirements.— Section 1052(c)(2) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(c)(2)) is amended by inserting after “conduct” the following: “, with specific reference to particular facts,”.
(c) Attorney representation.— Section 1052(c)(13)(D) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(c)(13)(D)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(v) Question and response.—
(I) Advising attorney.— An attorney advising a person described in clause (i) may submit to the Bureau questions related to the scope or breadth of the demand.
(II) Bureau response.— The Bureau shall submit to the attorney advising a person described in clause (i) a response to any question submitted under subclause (I) during the shorter of—
(aa) a period that is 20 days after the date that the questions are submitted; or
(bb) a period equal to the period beginning on the date of service of the civil investigative demand and ending on the return date specified in the demand.
(III) Extension of return date and petition deadline.— In a case in which questions are submitted under subclause (I), the Bureau may include with the response required under subclause (II) an extension of the return date and the deadline to file a petition with the Bureau for an order modifying or setting aside the demand.”.
(d) Confidential treatment of petitions.— Section 1052(d)) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(d)) is amended—
(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting “and petitions” after “demand material”; and
(2) in paragraph (1), strike “and tangible things” and insert “, tangible things, and the contents of any petition submitted to the Bureau in accordance with subsection (f)”.
(e) Specific grounds To set aside.— Section 1052(f)(3) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(f)(3)) is amended by striking “upon any failure” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following:
“(A) failure of the demand to comply with the provisions of this section;
(B) constitutional or other legal right or privilege of such person; or
(C) demonstration that the demand is—
(i) unduly burdensome, disproportionately expensive, and outside the scope of the inquiry; or
(ii) unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.”.
(f) Judicial review.— Section 1052(f) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5562(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(4) Judicial review of petition To modify or set aside a demand.— In the case that the Bureau denies a petition to modify or set aside a demand, such denial shall be subject to judicial review.”.