CFPB director defends rulemaking on medical debt, data brokers and account closures at Senate Banking hearing

Chairman Sherrod Brown presided over a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Dec. 11, 2024, at which Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra delivered the bureau’s semiannual report and outlined regulatory priorities.

Brown opened by framing the committee’s work as focused on everyday Americans, citing Dodd-Frank and the CFPB’s role in consumer protection. "We put the focus on the committee back where it should be, the people who make this country work," he said in opening remarks.

Chopra used his opening to set priorities: tackling concentrated credit-card markets, restricting how medical debt appears on credit reports, curbing abusive data-broker practices, preventing wrongful account closures and supervising large nonbank platforms. "Homeownership is supposed to be a part of the American dream, not something that is supposed to turn into a nightmare," Chopra said when discussing housing-related consumer harms. On medical bills he testified, "We have found systemic problems with the accuracy of medical bills, particularly ones that are reported on credit reports." He described a proposed rule that would block certain medical bills from credit reports and would also prohibit securing loans with wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs.

On data brokers and privacy, Chopra said the CFPB has proposed a rule to curb sales of sensitive financial data and protect Americans from "scammers, stalkers, and spies." He described planned Federal Register notice and pledged to hear from law enforcement and other stakeholders to preserve legitimate investigative tools while restricting harmful data flows.

Chopra defended the bureau’s attention to account closures and so-called "debanking," saying the CFPB is litigating and using supervisory tools to ensure banks and payment firms do not close accounts for reasons outside federal law. "We're especially concerned when funds are frozen or when accounts are closed for reasons not contemplated by federal law," he told senators.

Republican members repeatedly criticized the timing and scope of recent CFPB rulemaking. Ranking Republican senators expressed concern that rulemakings continued amid a change in administration and asked for cost-benefit justifications. Chopra responded that consumer harms continue between Election Day and inauguration and pointed to bipartisan support on some issues such as protections for survivors of domestic violence.

Committee members of both parties pressed Chopra on enforcement results and consumer returns. Chopra cited large restitution figures in multiple exchanges, stating the CFPB has returned billions to harmed consumers through enforcement and civil-penalty distributions. On credit-card practices, he said Americans pay about $25 billion more per year now than a decade ago because of industry concentration and gap-tightening by major issuers.

Several senators asked about buy-now-pay-later products and the bureau's oversight of digital-payment apps; Chopra said the CFPB issued an interpretive rule and is coordinating with state authorities to monitor market behavior. On housing, members including Senator Schiff raised algorithmic rent-setting and corporate ownership of rental housing; Chopra pointed to Department of Justice litigation against RealPage as evidence of potential collusive practices.

The hearing closed with administrative reminders about questions for the record and adjournment. Chairman Brown set a week for written questions and asked witnesses to return responses to the record within 45 days.

Chopra’s testimony and follow-up exchanges make clear the CFPB will press forward on several high-profile rulemakings while facing scrutiny from Republican senators about timing, costs and the bureau’s authority.