PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 26, 2025
Making the CFPB Accountable to Small Businesses Act of 2025
This bill requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to consider the impact of proposed rules on small entities.
In addition, the CFPB, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration must justify decisions to not adopt certain alternatives to regulations that are applicable to small entities.
People & committees
Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott [R-WI-5] · R–WI
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 6, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-26 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would change federal rulemaking requirements concerning small entities, a legal category the supplied text does not define. It would address proposed rules’ effects on those entities and require covered agencies to justify certain decisions not to adopt alternatives. Covered agencies would also have to describe steps taken to minimize additional borrowing costs for small entities.
(iii) the impact of proposed rules on small entities, in accordance with section 609 of title 5, United States Code;
(D) where the covered agency does not adopt any alternatives described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c), a detailed justification of the covered agency’s determination that the relative size and resources of small entities should have no bearing on the rule, supported by factual, policy and legal reasons.
a description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize any additional cost of credit for small entities
Section 2 would add the impact of proposed rules on small entities to the specified Dodd-Frank rulemaking provision, subject to section 609 of title 5. The supplied text does not reproduce the surrounding requirements or that cross-referenced section.
Section 1022(b)(2)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(2)(A)) is amended—
(3) by adding at the end the following: (iii) the impact of proposed rules on small entities, in accordance with section 609 of title 5, United States Code;
Section 3 would add a requirement to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis—the preliminary analysis addressed by this section. If a covered agency adopts none of the alternatives referenced in subsection (c)(1)–(4), it would have to give a detailed factual, policy and legal justification for determining that small entities’ relative size and resources should have no bearing on the rule.
3. Initial regulatory flexibility analysis Section 603(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
(D) where the covered agency does not adopt any alternatives described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c), a detailed justification of the covered agency’s determination that the relative size and resources of small entities should have no bearing on the rule, supported by factual, policy and legal reasons.
Section 4 would replace the second paragraph numbered (6) in the final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements with a paragraph numbered (7). Its replacement language would require a covered agency to describe steps taken to minimize any additional cost of credit—borrowing costs—for small entities. Covered agencies would be those defined in section 609(d)(2).
4. Final regulatory flexibility analysis Section 604(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the second paragraph (6) to read as follows: (7) for a covered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2), a description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize any additional cost of credit for small entities
Under section 4’s replacement language, when no significant alternatives for small entities were adopted, a covered agency would also have to provide a detailed factual, policy and legal justification for determining that those entities’ relative size and resources should have no bearing on the rule.
where no significant alternatives for small entities was adopted, a detailed justification of the covered agency’s determination that the relative size and resources of small entities should have no bearing on the rule, supported by factual, policy and legal reasons.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 6, 2026, records introduction in the House on February 26, 2025, and referral that day to the Judiciary, Small Business, and Financial Services committees for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-06T16:05:08Z.
2025-02-26: Introduced in House
2025-02-26: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Small Business, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-26. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Other versions and accompanying earmark disclosures or reports are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Its general procedural protections for the intended beneficiary class do not alone constitute a targeted benefit. This conclusion is limited to this version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 6, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI