119 HR 941 RH: Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-06-18 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.

IBUnion Calendar No. 610119th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 941[Report No. 119–702]IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESFebruary 4, 2025Mr. Hill of Arkansas (for himself, Mr. Meuser, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Moore of North Carolina, and Mr. Williams of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial ServicesJune 18, 2026Additional sponsors: Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Mrs. Hinson, Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Womack, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Shreve, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Wilson of South CarolinaJune 18, 2026Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printedStrike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italicFor text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 4, 2025A BILLTo amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to provide for an effective date and a temporary safe harbor for compliance with certain small business lending data collection rules, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Small Lenders Exempt from New Data and Excessive Reporting Act or the Small LENDER Act.

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 is not required to provide such information; and(C)the applicant’s response will not affect the financial institution’s evaluation of the request for credit.(2)

Model form

The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall establish a model form to be used in providing the information required to be provided to an applicant under paragraph (1). Such form shall—(A)be in plain English; and(B)to the extent practicable, be no longer than a single page.;(2)by striking subsection (d);(3)by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and(4)in subsection (d), as so redesignated—(A)in paragraph (2)—(i)by striking subparagraphs (C), (G), and (H);(ii)by redesignating subparagraphs (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively;(iii)in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by adding and at the end; and(iv)in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, by striking the semicolon and inserting a period;(B)in paragraph (3), by striking paragraph (1)(E) and inserting paragraph (1)(D); 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.;(5)in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by adding at the end the following:(4)

Initial compliance date

(A)

In general

The Bureau may not require a financial institution to comply with this section, or any rule issued under this section, until June 1, 2031.(B)

Safe harbor

The Bureau may not enforce compliance with the requirements of this section during the 2-year period beginning on the date described in subparagraph (A).(5)

Exemption for small financial institutions

A financial institution is exempt from the requirements of this section if the financial institution—(A)in each of the 2 previous calendar years, originated less than 2,500 credit transactions for small businesses; or(B)has less than $10,000,000,000 in assets.(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 section.; and(6)in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:(2)

Small business

The term small business means any entity with gross annual revenues of $1,000,000 or less in the most recently completed fiscal year..

June 18, 2026Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed