U.S. Chamber Backs Bill to Overhaul CFPB Funding and Rulemaking

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is throwing its weight behind H.R. 10184, the Consumer Financial Protection Accountability and Reform Act of 2026, calling it the most comprehensive reform to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since the agency's creation in 2010.

In a letter addressed to House Financial Services Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters, Jonathan Burks, Senior Vice President for Policy at the Chamber, said the bill would establish "long overdue and permanent guardrails" to ensure the Bureau applies federal consumer financial protection laws fairly and consistently "without succumbing to waves of regulatory overreach."

The endorsement lands at a moment when Congress is weighing the first structural reworking of an agency that has operated outside the annual appropriations process since its founding. The Chamber's support gives the legislation a powerful business-community ally as it moves through the House.

The Chamber's Core Complaint

The letter lays out two structural criticisms of the Bureau. First, the Chamber argues the CFPB has "routinely operated with an overly expansive view of its statutory authority" since its inception. Second, the group contends the Bureau's policy priorities "often shift dramatically from one administration to the next."

The consequence, according to Burks: consumers and market participants lose "the regulatory certainty necessary to support competition, innovation, and choice."

The Chamber frames the legislation as a remedy for those systemic problems through "foundational structural reforms." The letter does not address counterarguments from consumer groups who have historically defended the Bureau's independence.

Two Pillars of the Bill

The Chamber highlights two provisions as central to its endorsement.

The first and, in the Chamber's words, "most importantly," the bill brings the CFPB into the congressional appropriations process. That change would restore what the Chamber calls "necessary constitutional oversight over the Bureau's activities." Moving the Bureau onto annual funding would hand Congress direct leverage over the agency's budget — a shift long sought by critics of the CFPB's current funding stream through the Federal Reserve system.

The second pillar is Section 103, which the Chamber says expands quantitative requirements for cost-benefit analyses. Under the provision, the Bureau would have to "empirically ground its rulemakings" by evaluating impacts on three specific measures: product approval rates, consumer access, and the cost of credit.

That provision targets a persistent industry criticism that CFPB rules have rested on qualitative judgments rather than hard data. Requiring quantified analysis of how regulations affect credit costs and product availability would force the Bureau to document the market effects of its rules before finalizing them.

What Comes Next

The letter closes with a direct appeal to lawmakers. "Congress has an opportunity to structure a more predictable, accountable, and fair Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Burks writes. The Chamber urges passage of the Act "to provide stability for American consumers and businesses."

The Chamber also applauds the bill as "a meaningful step towards a more durable CFPB."

The legislation now rests with the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Hill, with Waters — historically a staunch CFPB defender — as the panel's top Democrat. Whether the bill can attract bipartisan support in a chamber where the Bureau has long divided the parties will determine whether the first major CFPB restructuring in over fifteen years becomes law.