[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 15993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05178]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION


Renewal of Academic Research Council

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau), after 
consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat of the General 
Services Administration, will renew the Academic Research Council (the 
committee or the ARC) effective on March 15, 2023. The ARC will provide 
the Bureau with advice about its strategic research planning process 
and research agenda, including views on the research that the Bureau 
should conduct relating to consumer financial products or services, 
consumer behavior, cost-benefit analysis, or other topics to enable the 
agency to further its statutory purposes and objectives; provide the 
Office of Research with technical advice and feedback on research 
methodologies, data collection strategies, and methods of analysis, 
including methodologies and strategies for quantifying the costs and 
benefits of regulatory actions; and serve as peer reviewers of policy-
determinative research conducted by the Bureau.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberley Medrano, Acting Staff 
Director, Advisory Board and Councils Section, Office of Stakeholder 
Management, Consumer Education and External Affairs Division, at 202-
590-6736, or [email protected]. If you require this document 
in an alternative electronic format, please contact 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the provisions of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 10), the Bureau hereby 
gives notice of renewal of the Academic Research Council, effective 
immediately. The ARC is a discretionary committee being renewed for the 
purposes of compliance with FACA. This committee is being renewed 
concurrently with the publication of this notice by filing a charter 
with the Director of the Bureau, the Committee Management Secretariat 
of the General Services Administration, the Library of Congress, the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the United States 
Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of the United States 
House of Representatives. The charter will also be posted on the 
Bureau's website at www.consumerfinance.gov. This charter will expire 
two years after the filing date unless renewed by appropriate action.
    The ARC will (1) provide the Bureau with advice about its strategic 
research planning process and research agenda, including views on the 
research that the Bureau should conduct relating to consumer financial 
products or services, consumer behavior, cost-benefit analysis, or 
other topics to enable the agency to further its statutory purposes and 
objectives; (2) provide the Office of Research with technical advice 
and feedback on research methodologies, data collection strategies, and 
methods of analysis, including methodologies and strategies for 
quantifying the costs and benefits of regulatory actions; and, (3) 
serve as peer reviewers of policy-determinative research conducted by 
the Bureau.
    The duties of the ARC are solely advisory and shall extend only to 
its submission of advice and recommendations to the Bureau. Statements 
made by members of the committee shall not constitute official agency 
policy or guidance. No determination of fact or policy will be made by 
the committee, and the committee will have no formal decision-making 
role.
    In appointing members to the committee, the Director shall seek to 
assemble members who are economic experts and academics with diverse 
points of view such as experienced economists with a strong research 
and publishing or practitioner background, and a record of involvement 
in research and public policy, including public or academic service. 
Additionally, members should be prominent experts who are recognized 
for their professional achievements and rigorous economic analysis 
including those specializing in household finance, finance, financial 
education, labor economics, industrial organization, public economics, 
and law and economics; and experts from related social sciences related 
to the Bureau's mission. In particular, the Director will seek to 
identify academics with strong methodological and technical expertise 
in structural or reduced form econometrics; modeling of consumer 
decision-making; survey and random controlled trial methods; cost-
benefit analysis; welfare economics and program evaluation; or 
marketing.
    The ARC shall consist of at least seven members. All members 
appointed by the Director shall serve at the pleasure of the Director. 
Committee members will be designated as Special Government Employees. 
Equal opportunity practices in accordance with the Bureau's policies 
shall be followed in all appointments to the committee.

Emily Ross,
Acting Deputy Chief of Staff, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2023-05178 Filed 3-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P