Rural Credit Access Act of 2024
This bill establishes an Office of the Community Development Advocate in the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The fund supports Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which provide financial services to low-income and underserved communities.
The office must ensure the safety and affordability of products and services provided by CDFIs to target populations and investment areas. The office must also collect and address complaints from financial institutions, facilitate coordination between the fund and federal banking agencies, and ensure institutions have access to technical assistance.
The bill also requires the establishment of a process for revoking a CDFI’s certification.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7338 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7338
To establish an Office of the Community Development Advocate for the
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, to establish a
process for decertification of community development financial
institutions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 13, 2024
Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Mr. Davis of North Carolina)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an Office of the Community Development Advocate for the
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, to establish a
process for decertification of community development financial
institutions, 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 ``Rural Credit Access Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) community development financial institutions are
financial institutions that seek to expand economic opportunity
in underserved rural investment areas and low-income
communities by providing access to financial products and
services for local residents and businesses that otherwise may
not be accessible;
(2) certification as a community development financial
institution allows an institution to engage several programs
outside of the Community Development Financial Institutions
Fund to further support the communities they serve;
(3) the Department of the Treasury must continue to support
community development financial institutions by standing up an
ombudsman office and creating an orderly and transparent
process for decertification so as to not cause unintentional
harm to the communities they serve; and
(4) the establishment of such an office and process should
only serve to provide certainty and clarity for community
development financial institutions, not to reduce available
funds for the substantive work of such institutions, and as
such, appropriate support for the Fund to accomplish this goal
must be made available.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ADVOCATE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
FUND.
(a) Ombudsman for the Community Development Financial Institutions
Fund.--Section 104 of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory
Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(l) Office of the Community Development Advocate.--
``(1) Designation.--The Administrator shall establish in
the Fund an Office of the Community Development Advocate (in
this subsection referred to as the `Office').
``(2) Community development advocate.--
``(A) In general.--The head of the Office shall be
the Community Development Advocate who shall--
``(i) report directly to the Administrator;
and
``(ii) be appointed by the Administrator
from among individuals having experience in
advocating to expand economic opportunity for
targeted populations and investment areas.
``(B) Compensation.--The annual rate of pay for the
Community Development Advocate shall be equal to the
highest rate of annual pay for other senior executives
who report to the Administrator.
``(C) Limitation on service.--An individual who
serves as the Community Development Advocate may not be
employed by the Administrator--
``(i) during the 2-year period ending on
the date of appointment as Community
Development Advocate; or
``(ii) during the 5-year period beginning
on the date on which the person ceases to serve
as the Community Development Advocate.
``(3) Staff of office.--The Community Development Advocate
may retain or employ independent counsel, research staff, and
service staff, as the Community Development Advocate deems
necessary to carry out the functions and duties of the Office.
``(4) Duties.--The Community Development Advocate shall
ensure that community development financial institutions
provide safe and affordable financial products and services to
targeted populations and investment areas. Such duties may
include the following:
``(A) Collecting, addressing, and documenting
complaints from institutions about--
``(i) the process of becoming a certified
community development financial institution;
and
``(ii) the process of applying for grants
or programs of the Fund.
``(B) Working with the Administrator and
institutions to address complaints where possible,
including the following:
``(i) Obtaining clarity relating to
determinations or notices of noncompliance of
an institution.
``(ii) Ensuring reasonable responsiveness
of the Administrator to inquiries from
institutions.
``(iii) Facilitating coordination between
the Administrator and appropriate Federal
banking agencies to ensure full understanding
of issues related to safety and soundness of
community development financial institutions or
legal and regulatory obligations of such
institutions.
``(iv) Ensuring that community development
financial institutions have timely access to
technical assistance for application systems
administered by the Administrator.
``(C) Assess the efficiency and efficacy of the
certification and application processes described in
subparagraph (A) and assess whether the Fund has
adequate resources for the number of applicants.
``(5) Report.--The Community Development Advocate shall
submit to Congress, the Administrator, and the Community
Development Advisory Board an annual report that includes--
``(A) an assessment of the responsiveness of the
Administrator to inquiries from community development
financial institutions;
``(B) an assessment of the length of time taken to
review applications for certification or
recertification from such institutions;
``(C) the results of the assessments conducted
under paragraph (4)(C); and
``(D) such other information, as determined by the
Community Development Advocate.''.
SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR DECERTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS.
Section 119(a) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory
Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4717) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Decertification.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator
shall promulgate regulations to establish a process for
revoking the certification of a community development financial
institution under this Act. Such process shall include--
``(A) provision of clear, written guidance from the
Administrator regarding what constitutes noncompliance
that would result in the revocation of a certification;
``(B) the provision of meaningful, detailed, and
individualized notice of noncompliance to the
institution;
``(C) identification in such notice of a reasonable
period to allow the institution to cure such
noncompliance, which period may be extended by the
Administrator, in consultation with the Community
Development Advocate;
``(D) if the Administrator provides a notice to an
institution describing noncompliance relating to fraud
or misrepresentation of the institution, streamlined
processes for decertification of such institution;
``(E) provision of the contact information for the
Office of Ombudsman; and
``(F) a wind-down process for a community
development financial institution for which
certification has been revoked, established in
consultation with the appropriate Federal banking
agency (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act), to ensure the safety and soundness of
the United States financial system.''.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to the
Administrator of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
to carry out this section.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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