[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1483 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1483

To amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to provide requirements for 
appropriate Federal banking agencies when using independent consultants 
in carrying out a consent order, to grant SIGTARP authority to provide 
         oversight of such consultants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2013

 Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Al Green of Texas, and Mr. 
  Cummings) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to provide requirements for 
appropriate Federal banking agencies when using independent consultants 
in carrying out a consent order, to grant SIGTARP authority to provide 
         oversight of such consultants, 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 ``Stop Outsourcing Banking Enforcement 
and Examination Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF CONSULTANTS IN CONSENT ORDERS.

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 51. USE OF CONSULTANTS IN CONSENT ORDERS.

    ``(a) In General.--An appropriate Federal banking agency that 
enters into a consent order with a person regulated by such agency may 
only use an independent consultant in carrying out such order if all of 
the following requirements are met:
            ``(1) Transparency.--No less than two weeks before any 
        activity under the consent order commences, the appropriate 
        Federal banking agency shall make the following information 
        available to the public:
                    ``(A) The full and unredacted consent agreement 
                resulting from the consent order.
                    ``(B) All material information related to any past 
                business relationships of the independent consultants, 
                regulators, financial institutions, and third party 
                service providers to the order, and their agents and 
                employees, regardless of their involvement in the 
                execution of the order.
                    ``(C) A detailed estimate of engagement costs.
                    ``(D) A detailed description of a well-defined 
                methodology for fulfilling the consent order.
            ``(2) Reporting.--The appropriate Federal banking agency 
        shall issue a report to the Congress, not less than once every 
        quarter until the consent order ends, detailing the progress in 
        fulfilling the consent order and the performance of the 
        independent consultant.
            ``(3) Restriction on participation.--No independent 
        consultant carrying out a consent order has prior or current 
        work that will be under review in such consent order or a 
        concurrent and substantially similar consent order.
            ``(4) Retention and payment of consultant.--The independent 
        consultant is hired, and paid, directly by the appropriate 
        Federal banking agency and the appropriate Federal banking 
        agency is to be reimbursed for such expenses by the entity 
        subject to the consent order.
            ``(5) Restriction on application of penalties to other 
        ongoing enforcement actions.--Any remediation or penalties 
        under the consent order will not apply to, or be settled in 
        conjunction with, any other consent order, settlement, or 
        enforcement action.
    ``(b) Private Right of Action.--If an independent consultant fails 
to comply with the contract under which the consultant is assisting the 
appropriate Federal banking agency in carrying out a consent order 
which requires financial remediation to a person or class of persons, 
any person or class of persons aggrieved by such failure may bring a 
civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for damages resulting 
from such violation, and may obtain other appropriate relief, including 
equitable relief. If the plaintiff prevails in any such action, the 
court shall award the plaintiff any litigation costs reasonably 
incurred, together with reasonable attorneys' fees and reasonable 
expert witness fees, as determined by the court.
    ``(c) Clawback of Fees.--
            ``(1) In general.--If a court determines that an 
        independent consultant has violated the terms of the contract 
        with the appropriate Federal banking agency or has failed to 
        disclose required conflict of interest information, the 
        independent consultant shall repay the appropriate Federal 
        banking agency all fees received by the consultant during the 
        period of time such violation or failure was occurring.
            ``(2) Safe harbor.--If the independent consultant made all 
        reasonable efforts to uncover conflicts of interest among the 
        consultant's agents and employees, the consultant shall not be 
        subject to paragraph (1) with respect to a failure to disclose 
        required conflict of interest information.
    ``(d) Employment Restriction.--An employee of an appropriate 
Federal banking agency that was involved in approving an independent 
consultant to assist in carrying out a consent order may not seek 
employment with, or be employed by, such independent consultant during 
any period in which such consent order is in effect, any amendment to 
such consent order is in effect, or any subsequent consent order based 
on the original consent order is in effect.''.

SEC. 3. SIGTARP TO OVERSEE USE OF CONSULTANTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 121 of the Emergency Economic 
Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5231) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) In addition, the Special Inspector General shall also 
        have the duties and responsibilities of providing oversight 
        of--
                    ``(A) consent orders entered into by an appropriate 
                Federal banking agency; and
                    ``(B) the performance of independent consultants 
                hired by an appropriate Federal banking agency to 
                assist in carrying out such consent orders, as 
                described under section 51 of the Federal Deposit 
                Insurance Act.''; and
            (2) by amending subsection (k) to read as follows:
    ``(k) Oversight of Consent Orders.--
            ``(1) Right of action related to consent order 
        monitoring.--The Special Inspector General may bring a civil 
        action in any court of competent jurisdiction against an 
        independent consultant described under section 51(a) of the 
        Federal Deposit Insurance Act for damages and equitable relief 
        for any violations of the consultant's duties under the 
        contract under which the consultant is assisting an appropriate 
        Federal banking agency in carrying out a consent order.
            ``(2) Whistleblower incentives and protection related to 
        consent order monitoring.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Special Inspector General 
                shall establish a whistleblower program under which--
                            ``(i) the Special Inspector General pays an 
                        award or awards to 1 or more whistleblowers who 
                        voluntarily provide original information to the 
                        Special Inspector General that leads to the 
                        successful enforcement of a judicial or 
                        administrative action brought by the Special 
                        Inspector General against an independent 
                        consultant described under section 51(a) of the 
                        Federal Deposit Insurance Act that results in 
                        monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000; and
                            ``(ii) the employer of a whistleblower may 
                        not discriminate against a whistleblower in the 
                        terms and conditions of employment of the 
                        whistleblower because of any lawful act done by 
                        the whistleblower.
                    ``(B) Form of program.--To the extent practicable, 
                the whistleblower program established under this 
                subsection shall be carried out in the same manner as 
                the whistleblower provision under section 21F of the 
                Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u-6).''.
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