[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 52 (Monday, April 13, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H2125-H2126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1645
         SAFE ACT CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVILEGE ENHANCEMENT ACT

  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1480) to ensure access to certain information for financial 
services

[[Page H2126]]

industry regulators, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1480

       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 ``SAFE Act Confidentiality 
     and Privilege Enhancement Act''.

     SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION SHARED BETWEEN STATE 
                   AND FEDERAL FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATORS.

       Section 1512(a) of the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 
     2008 (12 U.S.C. 5111(a)) is amended by inserting ``or 
     financial services'' before ``industry''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Capuano) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and add extraneous materials on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  The SAFE Act is a simple, bipartisan bill that encourages 
information-sharing between Federal and State regulators.
  Ensuring the confidentiality of information provided to the National 
Mortgage Licensing System encourages its uses, which better protects 
consumers from bad actors who switch States for licensing purposes to 
evade scrutiny.
  This legislation provides assurance for financial institutions that 
privileged information shared between Federal banking regulators and 
State regulatory agencies will be protected and remain confidential.
  This will encourage a greater amount of sharing between institutions 
and their regulators, and will allow our Nation's financial regulators 
to do their jobs to ensure that our financial institutions are 
operating lawfully, while, at the same time, able to offer consumer 
credit products that are critical to Americans to finance their 
everyday purchases and start small businesses.
  The NMLS is used by regulators in all 50 States, and it is supported 
by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
  This bill passed the House on suspension last Congress, and it passed 
the Senate by unanimous consent.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, on most social issues, I consider myself a 
liberal. On most fiscal matters, I consider myself a conservative in 
the true sense of the word, not the new sense of the word, meaning that 
you should pay for those things that you want.
  When it comes to privacy matters, I consider myself a proud 
Libertarian. There is absolutely no reason for anyone who doesn't need 
information that I don't want them to have to get, period. It is my 
information, my information to share only with those with whom I wish 
to share it.
  This bill takes one step further towards keeping my information 
private and confidential between me and those people I seek to share it 
with. It is a great bill. I look forward to voting for it.
  This information is necessary to be shared to simply keep our 
financial services system going, but there is no reason whatsoever to 
allow it to be nonconfidential and to be spread around and be available 
to anybody who might want to look at it.
  I support the passage of this bill. I congratulate Mr. Dold for 
putting this forward for us to vote on, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield as much time as 
he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Dold), the primary 
author of this bill, who has worked tirelessly in this area.
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank the chairman for his 
leadership. I want to thank my good friend from Massachusetts, and I 
also want to comment on the fact that we are delighted that you are a 
Libertarian on some of these things.
  As we look, Mr. Speaker, at H.R. 1480, the SAFE Act Confidentiality 
and Privilege Enhancement Act, it preserves the ability of the State 
and Federal financial regulators to share information regarding 
consumer financial services businesses that are licensed at the State 
level in the National Mortgage Licensing System without losing the 
privilege and confidentiality protections provided by State and Federal 
law.
  This is a bipartisan bill that promotes smart and efficient 
regulation among State regulators. It ensures that State regulators can 
talk to their colleagues across State lines regarding multistate 
financial service entities without losing traditional privilege and 
constitutionality protections.
  These amendments are needed due to the unintended gap in the existing 
National Mortgage Licensing System statute. As State regulators have 
expanded their use of the NMLS in order to enhance consumer 
protections, to combat fraud, increase uniformity, and reduce 
regulatory burdens in licensing processes, privacy protections have not 
kept up.
  This is a commonsense bill that provides regulators with the 
certainty that they can continue to share information and collaborate 
with their colleagues across State lines.
  Protecting the integrity of the National Mortgage Licensing System is 
important because it better protects consumers from bad actors who 
switch States for licensing purposes to evade scrutiny.
  This is ensuring, Mr. Speaker, smart regulations.
  Again, I talk to people all around my district. The fact is that we 
are not against regulations. We just want our regulations to be smart 
and tailored, and this is one of those things that, again, working 
across the aisle and trying to find common ground, this is one that I 
believe that we can agree on.
  H.R. 1480 does not create any new privilege or confidentiality 
rights. It merely ensures that the existing privilege and 
confidentiality protections are retained when information is shared 
through the National Mortgaging Licensing System so that regulators can 
share information and communicate.
  H.R. 1480 has received support from the Conference of State Bank 
Supervisors, the Credit Union National Association, and the Illinois 
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, in my home State.
  The SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act passed out 
of this committee, out of the Financial Services Committee, 58-0. I 
certainly urge my colleagues to support this bill, and look forward to 
its passage.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, this truly is a bipartisan bill. It is a 
commonsense bill. I think the whole group of bills that we have seen 
this afternoon will go a long way to helping keep commonsense 
regulations; at the same time, making sure the consumers are protected. 
So I urge my colleagues to support passage of this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1480.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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