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Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act This bill specifies that the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is the sole regulator of the Farm Credit System (FCS) and establishes reporting requirements for FCS institutions (i.e., lenders). Specifically, the bill states that the FCA is the sole and independent regulator of the FCS and exempts entities that are supervised by the FCA from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). As background, the bill addresses a rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that implements provisions of the ECOA by requiring covered financial institutions, including FCS institutions, to collect and report to the CFPB data on credit applications for small businesses, including the principal owner's race, sex, and ethnicity. This 2023 rule has been challenged in court. The bill also requires FCS institutions to (1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity; and (2) annually report the collected information to the FCA. The FCA must make the collected information available to the public on annual basis. If an FCS institution customer does not voluntarily report the requested information, the FCA may not require the institution to use other means to deduce the information. In addition, the bill specifies that FCS institutions shall not be required to comply with the bill's requirements if financial institutions are not required to comply w
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Full Bill Text
119 HR 1063 IH: Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-02-06 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1063 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 6, 2025 Mr. Finstad (for himself, Mr. Panetta , Mrs. Miller of Illinois , Mr. Baird , Mrs. Fischbach , and Mr. Moolenaar ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture , and in addition to the Committee on 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 BILL To affirm that the Farm Credit Administration is the sole and independent regulator of the Farm Credit System. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act . 2. Farmer loan data collection (a) In general The Farm Credit Act of 1971 ( 12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 4.19 the following: 4.20. Small farmer loan data collection (a) Purpose The purpose of this section is to affirm that the Farm Credit Administration is the sole and independent regulator of the Farm Credit System. (b) Definition In this section, the term small farmer means a small farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products as defined pursuant to section 4.19. (c) Collection of demographic data by Farm Credit System lenders Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Farm Credit System institutions, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Farm Credit Administration, shall— (1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity; (2) collect and maintain the information resulting from the requests; and (3) report to the Farm Credit Administration on an annual basis the information collected pursuant to the requests. (d) Directions to the Farm Credit Administration The Farm Credit Administration— (1) shall collect the information gathered by Farm Credit System institutions under this section and make the information available to the public on an annual basis; and (2) shall not require, in prescribing regulations to implement this section, that any Farm Credit System institution contradict the wishes of a customer who does not wish to voluntarily report race, sex, or ethnicity by requiring the Farm Credit System institution to report the race, sex, or ethnicity of the customer based on visual observation, surname, or any other method. (e) Protection of personally identifiable information In reporting the information collected under this section, the Farm Credit Administration shall not include any information that would reveal the identify of any loan applicant or borrower. (f) Effective date This section shall apply only to applications received and loans made 1 year or more after the date of the enactment of this section. . 3. Conforming amendment Section 704B(h)(1) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1691c–2(h)(1) ) is amended by inserting , other than any entity that is supervised by the Farm Credit Administration before the period at the end. 4. Cessation of compliance If financial institutions subject to subpart B of part 1002 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, are not required to comply with the rule promulgated pursuant to that subpart, whether because a court invalidates the rule or the rule is otherwise repealed, the Farm Credit System institutions shall not be required to comply with any regulation promulgated pursuant to the amendments made by this Act.
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