Resolution to Repeal Overdraft Fee Rule Passes Senate, Awaits House Vote
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday (March 27) to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule capping overdraft fees.
By a 52-48 vote, the Senate passed the joint resolution introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott of South Carolina, according to a roll call vote page on the Senate’s website.
With one exception, the votes were cast along party lines, with 52 Republicans voting yes and 45 Democrats voting no. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, voted no, as did two independent senators, per the Senate website.
The resolution, S.J.Res. 18, says “Congress disapproves the final rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to ‘Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions’” and that “such rule shall have no force or effect.”
The CFPB unveiled its overdraft fee regulations for large banks and credit unions Dec. 12 under President Joe Biden, saying it aimed to close what it called an “outdated overdraft loophole” in lending laws. The rule was set to take effect Oct. 1.
Following the Senate’s approval of the joint resolution, for the overdraft rule to be repealed, the House must approve a companion measure (H.J.Res. 59), and President Donald Trump must sign the Congressional Review Act measure, Bloomberg Law reported Thursday.
The Congressional Review Act enables Congress to review federal agencies’ new rules and, if they do not approve, enact a resolution of disapproval that means the rule has no force or effect, according to the Government Accountability Office.
In remarks delivered Wednesday (March 26) on the Senate floor, Scott said the CFPB’s final rule imposing new price controls on overdraft services offered by banks and credit unions would lead to reduced access to credit and financial services.
“A free checking account is not free, but with the revenue streams coming into the institutions, they can use those revenues as an option to provide free checking for those living paycheck to paycheck,” Scott said. “Overturning the Biden CFPB’s overdraft fee structure is good for consumers.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a Thursday post on social platform X that every Senate Democrat voted against the resolution.
“Senate Republicans would rather you didn’t find out they just voted to give the biggest banks billions in profits from overdraft fees that kick working people when they’re down,” Warren said in the post.
Senate Republicans would rather you didn’t find out they just voted to give the biggest banks billions in profits from overdraft fees that kick working people when they’re down. Disgraceful.
Meanwhile, every Senate Democrat voted against it. https://t.co/XiI09KHuc9
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 27, 2025
A resolution to overturn the rule was introduced in the House in February by French Hill of Arkansas, who is the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
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