House Passes CRA Repeal of Arbitration Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on July 25 in favor of HJR 111 to repeal the CFPB’s final rule on arbitration agreements.
The vote was 231-190 with Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.) the lone Republican joining the Democrats with a no vote.
There is no time table for the Senate to take up the companion resolution (SJR 47), which was introduced on July 20 by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Since the Senate is more focused on budget and health care battles at the moment, it’s unlikely the resolution will be voted on until after the August recess.
The resolution has been referred to the Senate Banking Committee, where it faces staunch opposition from Democrats, including ranking Democrat Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.).
Sen. Brown vowed to fight the repeal of the arbitration rule and has introduced separate legislation to enable victims of the Wells Fargo fake account scandal to join class action litigation against the bank. The CFPB’s final rule does not apply to those Wells Fargo customers. It would only apply to agreements made after the compliance date, which is now March 19, 2018.
If the Senate can pass its CRA resolution on arbitration, the president is expected to sign it. That would prohibit the CFPB from issuing any future rules on arbitration agreements.
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