GUIDANCE Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill would undo 23 separate withdrawals made by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) in May 2025. Each withdrawal canceled a consumer protection rule or guidance. By voiding those withdrawals, the bill would restore all 23 original rules to full legal force.
• Several restored rules deal with credit reporting and fair lending. These include protections against name-only matching errors, rules on permissible uses of consumer reports, limits on unfavorable changes to existing credit arrangements, and requirements for reasonable investigation of credit report disputes.
• The bill would bring back rules protecting military servicemembers and their families from financial risks, restoring CFPB examination authority over companies that deal with active-duty personnel and their dependents.
• Key consumer fee protections would be restored, including guidance against unfair overdraft opt-in practices, unfair returned deposited item fees, and rules against deceptive marketing about the speed or cost of remittance transfers.
• The bill restores protections related to medical debt collection, including a rule addressing deceptive and unfair medical debt collection practices and a bulletin on medical debt reporting tied to the No Surprises Act. It also revives rules against unfair billing of student loan debts after bankruptcy discharge.
• Additional restored protections cover whistleblower rights under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, a ban on reopening deposit accounts consumers previously closed, rules against unlawful negative option marketing, and restrictions on unenforceable contract terms.