Rep. Barr introduces CUNA-backed UDAAP Reform legislation

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., introduced a CUNA-supported bill that will rein-in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s abuse of its authority to oversee unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices, known as UDAAP. 

“The CFPB has attempted to exert its power well beyond what Congress ever intended, most strikingly with its UDAAP authority,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle and NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger. “We applaud Rep. Barr’s efforts to rein in the CFBP’s abuse of this authority to help credit unions continue to advance communities and support the financial well-being of American families.”  

The Rectifying UDAAP Act includes provisions to: 

• Require clear descriptions of acts or practices that are “abusive.” 
• Establish policies and procedures for the imposition of civil penalties. 
• Mandate cost-benefit analysis of any final rule under UDAAP. 
• Clarify that the bureau may not interpret its authority under UDAAP to include discriminatory practices. 

CUNA has pushed back against the CFPB’s broad classification of many financial services fees as “junk fees,” including in recent letters to Congress and meeting with CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.