The House is in session Tuesday through Thursday.
Among the legislation the House will consider is H.R. 1500. This bill officially changes the name of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It also lays out the responsibilities of the agency and limits the amount of political appointees that can serve at the agency and requires the Executive Branch to provide “adequate staffing” for the agency.
The bill is a response to the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce the CFPB’s power to impose costly regulations on the financial services industry. I can’t recall a recent incident where Congress passed legislation to protect a federal agency from an incumbent administration.
The House will also consider H.R. 1994. This bill makes changes to governing tax-free retirement savings accounts like IRAs and 401-Ks. I’ll have a detailed look at the bill later in the week.
Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (01-MA) made an agreement with Ways and Means ranking member Kevin Brady (TX-08) to include a provision allowing homeschooling families to use section 529 tax free savings accounts. The provision would also allow money from 529 accounts to be used to cover education expenses, such as fees for standardized testing, tutoring, or counseling for students with disabilities.
This language was left out of the Section 529 expansion that was included in the 2017 tax bill, and matches legislation introduced in this Congress by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Jason Smith (MS-08).
