H.R. 1063 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 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, Feb 6, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryFarm Credit Administration as sole farm lender regulator
This bill establishes the Farm Credit Administration as the sole independent regulator of the Farm Credit System, which makes loans to farmers and agricultural businesses. It exempts Farm Credit System institutions from a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule requiring lenders to collect and report data on credit applicants' race, sex, and ethnicity. Instead, the bill requires Farm Credit System institutions to ask small farmers to voluntarily share this demographic information and report it annually to the Farm Credit Administration, which would make the data public.
How it affects you
If you're a small farmer seeking a loan from a Farm Credit System lender, you may be asked to voluntarily share information about your race, sex, and ethnicity, though you're not required to provide it. The bill doesn't directly affect most other Americans, though it changes which federal agency oversees how Farm Credit System institutions operate and what demographic data they collect and report.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Feb 6, 2025)
Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act
This bill specifies that the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is the sole regulator of the Farm Credit System (FCS) and establishes reporting requirements for FCS institutions (i.e., lenders).
Specifically, the bill states that the FCA is the sole and independent regulator of the FCS and exempts entities that are supervised by the FCA from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
As background, the bill addresses a rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that implements provisions of the ECOA by requiring covered financial institutions, including FCS institutions, to collect and report to the CFPB data on credit applications for small businesses, including the principal owner's race, sex, and ethnicity. This 2023 rule has been challenged in court.
The bill also requires FCS institutions to (1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity; and (2) annually report the collected information to the FCA. The FCA must make the collected information available to the public on annual basis. If an FCS institution customer does not voluntarily report the requested information, the FCA may not require the institution to use other means to deduce the information.
In addition, the bill specifies that FCS institutions shall not be required to comply with the bill's requirements if financial institutions are not required to comply with the CFPB rule due to a court invalidating the rule or a repeal of the rule.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 1063
A BILL
Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act
Sponsor: Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN-1) · Introduced Feb 6, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 7, 2025: “Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.”