[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2352 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2352
To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to modify the requirements
associated with small business loan data collection, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 17, 2025
Mrs. Britt (for herself and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to modify the requirements
associated with small business loan data collection, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Regulatory Overreach to
Empower Communities to Thrive and Ensure Data Privacy Act'' or the
``PROTECTED Act''.
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS LOAN DATA COLLECTION.
Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691c-
2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``Any applicant'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Any applicant''; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
the following:
``, and the financial institution may, when requesting such
information, inform the applicant in writing that--
``(A) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
requires the financial institution to ask, collect, and
report such information to the Federal Government
annually pursuant to this section;
``(B) the applicant's response will not affect the
financial institution's evaluation of the request for
credit; and
``(C) the applicant is not required to provide such
information.''; and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking subparagraphs (C), (G), and
(H); and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (D),
(E), and (F) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and
(E), respectively;
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``The'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--The''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Rulemaking.--The Bureau shall, before
deleting or modifying data under this paragraph, and
after notice and an opportunity for comment, issue
rules that include a description of what modifications
and deletions the Bureau intends to make to the data
and how such modifications and deletions will advance a
privacy interest.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Prohibition on information not reported by an
applicant.--A financial institution may not compile and
maintain information described under subsection (b) that was
determined by the financial institution using visual
observation or any other manner other than being provided by an
applicant.
``(6) Treatment of response rate.--The percentage of
applicants providing a financial institution with the
information described under subsection (b) may not be used as a
factor in determining whether a financial institution is in
compliance with the requirements under this subsection.
``(7) Safe harbor.--The Bureau may not enforce compliance
with the requirements of this subsection during the 2-year
period beginning on the effective date described in paragraph
(8).
``(8) Effective date.--This subsection shall take effect on
the date that is 3 years after the date on which the Bureau
completes the cost-benefit analysis under chapter 6 of part I
of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the
`Regulatory Flexibility Act') and subchapter I of chapter 35 of
title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to as the
`Paperwork Reduction Act')).
``(9) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Financial institution.--The term `financial
institution'--
``(i) means--
``(I) any partnership, company,
corporation, association (incorporated
or unincorporated), trust, estate,
cooperative organization, or other
entity that--
``(aa) engages in any
financial activity; and
``(bb) in each of the
preceding 2 calendar years,
originated not less than 2,500
credit transactions for small
businesses; and
``(ii) does not include--
``(I) any financial institution
with less than $10,000,000,000 in
assets;
``(II) a Farm Credit System
institution chartered under and subject
to the provisions of the Farm Credit
Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.);
``(III) community development
financial institutions, as defined in
section 103 of the Community
Development Banking and Financial
Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C.
4702); or
``(IV) lenders involved in
equipment and vehicle financing.
``(B) Small business.--The term `small business'
means an entity with gross annual revenues of not more
than $1,000,000 in the preceding fiscal year.''.
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