House Committee on Financial Services releases recommendations for reconciliation.

On April 30, 2025, the House Committee on Financial Services approved legislation as part of the reconciliation process to reduce deficits. This legislation, stemming from H. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, aimed to recommend changes that would decrease deficits by at least $1 billion over the 2025-2034 period. The estimated federal cost of the reconciliation recommendations would, on net, reduce deficits by $5.2 billion during this period, with the main budgetary effects detailed in Table 1 falling under budget functions 370 (commerce and housing credit) and 600 (income security).

The legislation proposes several key changes to achieve these deficit reductions. Firstly, it would rescind the unobligated balances of the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, transfer the authorities of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while eliminating the board’s authority to collect accounting support fees, limit the funds that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) may receive from the Federal Reserve for administrative activities, and restrict the uses of amounts in the Civil Penalty Fund. Additionally, the Office of Financial Research would see a reduction in the amount it can collect and spend in fees.

The estimated budgetary effects of the legislation result from decreases in direct spending by the CFPB due to reduced transfer authority, as well as decreases in direct spending and revenues from agencies that collect and spend fees. CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would decrease direct spending by $8.5 billion and revenues by $3.3 billion over the 2025-2034 period, leading to an overall deficit reduction of $5.2 billion.

For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted in the summer of 2025 and bases its estimates on the January 2025 baseline, covering the period from 2025 through 2034. The legislation, having been ordered reported on April 30, 2025, would not increase net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods starting in 2035 and is subject to pay-as-you-go procedures. Moreover, it would not increase deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2035 and does not contain an intergovernmental mandate, but it does have a private-sector mandate that exceeds the threshold.

Overall, the reconciliation recommendations put forth by the House Committee on Financial Services aim to enact legislative changes that would significantly reduce deficits, thereby contributing to a more fiscally responsible financial landscape.