Shutdown Guidance for Financial Institutions Act

Shutdown Guidance for Financial Institutions Act

This bill directs financial regulators—including the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration—to jointly issue guidance relating to a government shutdown.

Specifically, financial regulators must issue guidance encouraging financial institutions to

• work with consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown,
• recognize that consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown may lose access to credit and face temporary hardship in making payments on debts,
• consider efforts to modify terms on existing loans or extend new credit to assist consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown, and
• take steps to prevent adverse credit information from being reported in a manner that harms consumers affected by a shutdown.

In addition, financial regulators must jointly issue a press release to notify financial institutions, consumers, and businesses of this guidance in the event of a government shutdown.

Financial regulators must also complete a report after a government shutdown regarding the guidance's effectiveness and update the guidance if any shortcoming are identified in the report. 

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5689 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5689

     To require the Federal financial regulators to issue guidance 
     encouraging financial institutions to work with consumers and 
  businesses affected by a Federal Government shutdown, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 3, 2025

 Mr. Subramanyam (for himself, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Lieu, Mrs. 
    McClain Delaney, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Norton, Mr. Raskin, and Mr. 
 Walkinshaw) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require the Federal financial regulators to issue guidance 
     encouraging financial institutions to work with consumers and 
  businesses affected by a Federal Government shutdown, 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 ``Shutdown Guidance for Financial 
Institutions Act''.

SEC. 2. SHUTDOWN GUIDANCE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Guidance.--Not later than the end of the 180-day period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal financial 
regulators shall, jointly, in consultation with State banking 
regulators and other appropriate Federal and State agencies, issue 
shutdown guidance to the financial institutions they regulate 
encouraging the financial institutions to--
            (1) work with consumers and businesses affected by a 
        shutdown;
            (2) recognize that consumers and businesses affected by a 
        shutdown may lose access to credit and face temporary hardship 
        in making payments on debts such as mortgages, student loans, 
        car loans, business loans, or credit cards;
            (3) consider prudent efforts to modify terms on existing 
        loans or extend new credit to help consumers and businesses 
        affected by a shutdown, consistent with safe-and-sound lending 
        practices; and
            (4) take steps to prevent adverse information being 
        reported in a manner that harms consumers affected by a 
        shutdown, including by preventing modified credit arrangements 
        intended to help consumers fulfill their financial obligations 
        from being reported to, and coded by, consumer reporting 
        agencies on a consumer's credit report in a manner that hurts 
        the creditworthiness of the consumer.
    (b) Notice of Guidance During a Shutdown.--Not later than the end 
of the 24-hour period beginning at the start of a shutdown, the Federal 
financial regulators shall, jointly, issue a press release to alert 
financial institutions, consumers, and businesses to the existence, and 
content, of the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a).
    (c) Post-Shutdown Report to Congress and Updated Guidance.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 90-day 
        period beginning on the date a shutdown ends, the Federal 
        financial regulators shall, jointly, issue a report to Congress 
        containing an analysis of the effectiveness of the guidance 
        issued pursuant to subsection (a).
            (2) Updated guidance.--Not later than the end of the 180-
        day period beginning on the date a report is issued under 
        paragraph (1), the Federal financial regulators shall update 
        the guidance required under subsection (a) if any shortcomings 
        are identified in such report.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Consumers affected by a shutdown.--The term ``consumers 
        affected by a shutdown'' means an individual who is an employee 
        of--
                    (A) the Federal Government, and who is furloughed 
                or excepted from a furlough during the shutdown;
                    (B) the District of Columbia, and who is not 
                receiving pay because of the shutdown; or
                    (C) a Federal contractor (as defined under section 
                7101 of title 41, United States Code) or other 
                business, and who has experienced a substantial 
                reduction in pay due to the shutdown.
            (2) Consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown.--The 
        term ``consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown'' 
        means--
                    (A) a consumer affected by a shutdown; and
                    (B) a Federal contractor (as defined under section 
                7101 of title 41, United States Code) or other business 
                that has experienced a substantial reduction in income 
                due to the shutdown.
            (3) Federal financial regulators.--The term ``Federal 
        financial regulators'' means the Board of Governors of the 
        Federal Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
        Protection, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal 
        Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union 
        Administration.
            (4) Shutdown.--The term ``shutdown'' means any period in 
        which there is more than a 24-hour lapse in appropriations as a 
        result of a failure to enact a regular appropriations bill or 
        continuing resolution.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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