Pulaski Times

U.S. Senators John Boozman and John Kennedy have introduced legislation to reverse a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule established during the Biden administration. The 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act aims to stop banks from collecting and reporting personal information such as race, ethnicity, and sex of business owners when applying for small business loans.

The senators argue that reversing this rule will increase access to credit for small businesses, save lenders millions in compliance costs, and reduce regulatory burdens on community banks and credit unions. The legislation also seeks to prevent the CFPB from publishing certain personal information online, which they claim could compromise borrower privacy.

Senator Boozman stated, "Overzealous data collection and any requirement to publish small businesses owners’ personal information online creates unnecessary risk while burying small business lenders under costly layers of bureaucratic red tape." He expressed satisfaction in working with his colleagues to ease these burdens on banks.

Senator Kennedy criticized the CFPB's regulation by saying, "President Biden’s woke CFPB put small business owners’ information at risk by requiring their personal details to be exposed online." He believes his bill would protect job creators' private information from being made public.

The legislation is co-sponsored by several other senators including Cindy Hyde-Smith, Joni Ernst, Roger Wicker, John Barrasso, Mike Rounds, Steve Daines, and Ted Cruz. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Roger Williams has introduced companion legislation.