SAFE Guidance Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4460 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4460

  To require a guidance clarity statement on certain financial agency 
                   guidance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2025

  Mr. Meuser introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require a guidance clarity statement on certain financial agency 
                   guidance, 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 ``Stop Agency Fiat Enforcement of 
Guidance Act'' or the ``SAFE Guidance Act''.

SEC. 2. GUIDANCE CLARITY STATEMENT REQUIRED.

    (a) In General.--The head of each financial agency shall include a 
guidance clarity statement as described in subsection (b) on any 
guidance issued by that financial agency on and after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Guidance Clarity Statement.--A guidance clarity statement 
required under subsection (a) shall be displayed prominently on the 
first page of the document and shall include the following: ``This 
guidance does not have the force and effect of law and therefore does 
not establish any rights or obligations for any person and is not 
binding on the agency or the public. If this guidance suggests how 
regulated entities may comply with applicable statutes or regulations, 
noncompliance with this guidance does not conclusively establish a 
violation of applicable law.''.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Financial agency.--The term ``financial agency'' means 
        the following:
                    (A) The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
                    (B) The Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development.
                    (C) The Department of the Treasury.
                    (D) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
                    (E) The Federal Housing Finance Agency.
                    (F) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
                System.
                    (G) The National Credit Union Administration.
                    (H) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
                    (I) The Securities and Exchange Commission.
            (2) Guidance.--The term ``guidance'' means a financial 
        agency statement of general applicability, intended to have a 
        future effect on the behavior of regulated parties, that sets 
        forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical issue, 
        or an interpretation of a statute or regulation, but does not 
        include--
                    (A) a rule promulgated pursuant to notice and 
                comment under section 553 of title 5, United States 
                Code;
                    (B) a rule exempt from rulemaking requirements 
                under section 553(a) of title 5, United States Code;
                    (C) a rule of financial agency organization, 
                procedure, or practice;
                    (D) a decision of a financial agency adjudication 
                under section 554 of title 5, United States Code, or 
                any similar statutory provision;
                    (E) internal guidance directed to the issuing 
                financial agency or other agency that is not intended 
                to have a substantial future effect on the behavior of 
                regulated parties; or
                    (F) internal executive branch legal advice or legal 
                opinions addressed to executive branch officials.
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