American FIRST Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 6550
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-02-25: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 454.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-11T23:26:41Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency Act of 2025 (H.R. 6550), also known as the American FIRST Act of 2025, aims to increase transparency and accountability in how U.S. federal banking supervisory agencies interact with international groups that set financial rules. It requires these agencies to report details of their involvement in global forums to Congress, ensuring that such interactions align with U.S. laws and national interests, while promoting U.S. control over its own financial regulations.
Key Provisions
- Annual Reporting Requirements: The three main U.S. banking supervisory agencies—the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—must include specific information in their existing annual reports to Congress about interactions with "global financial regulatory or supervisory forums." These forums are defined as international associations where foreign regulators collaborate on financial oversight (e.g., the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Financial Stability Board), but exclude certain global financial institutions or treaty-based organizations.
- Details Required in Reports:
- A list of forums where the agency participated.
- For each forum: Description of its purposes, members, and observers; how it aligns with U.S. laws; major funding sources; the agency's internal organization for handling interactions (including charts and staff oversight); key issues discussed; U.S. positions taken (with reasons, goals, and impacts); summaries of meetings and outcomes; texts or sources for any new policies, standards, or recommendations adopted; anticipated changes to U.S. laws, rules, or practices to implement these; and discussions of any U.S. actions taken to follow forum agreements, including economic impact analyses justifying that benefits (e.g., to financial stability or national security) outweigh costs.
- Additional details requested in writing by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs or the House Committee on Financial Services.
- Biannual Testimony: The Fed must provide testimony to Congress every six months specifically on its interactions with these global forums.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Federal Reserve Act Amendments: Expands the Fed's annual reporting duties (under 12 U.S.C. 247) to include the new global forum details, restructuring the section for clarity and adding the definition of global forums.
- OCC Reporting (Revised Statutes): Overhauls the OCC's annual report requirement (12 U.S.C. 14) to incorporate the global forum reporting, while making a technical fix by renumbering and reorganizing sections in the law's table of contents for better structure.
- FDIC Act Amendments: Modifies the FDIC's annual report (12 U.S.C. 1827(a)) by replacing an existing paragraph with the new global forum requirements and adding the forum definition.
- Overall, these changes build on pre-existing annual reporting obligations without creating entirely new reports, but they add substantial depth focused on international engagements, which were not previously mandated at this level of detail.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: Increases administrative workload for the Fed, OCC, and FDIC due to detailed data collection, analysis, and reporting. Agencies may need to adjust internal structures (e.g., staff assignments) and could face more congressional scrutiny, potentially slowing decisions on international matters.
- On Citizens: Enhances public access to information about how global financial rules might affect U.S. banking, such as lending standards or bank stability requirements, fostering greater trust in regulatory processes through transparency.
- On International Relations: Could influence U.S. engagement in global forums by requiring public justification of positions and implementations, possibly leading to more assertive U.S. stances to protect national interests. It may strain relations if seen as reducing U.S. commitment to international cooperation, but it excludes treaty-based groups to avoid conflicts.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Banking Agencies: Fed, OCC, and FDIC, as they must produce the expanded reports and testimony.
- Congress: Particularly the Senate and House banking committees, which gain tools for oversight and can request extra information.
- Financial Institutions and Industry: U.S. banks and related entities, indirectly affected through potential changes in regulations influenced by global forums.
- The Public and Taxpayers: Benefit from transparency into how international activities impact domestic finance and national security.
- Global Forums and Foreign Regulators: May experience altered U.S. participation dynamics due to increased scrutiny.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal Implications: Strengthens congressional oversight of executive branch agencies under existing statutes like the Federal Reserve Act, without altering core agency authorities. The economic impact analyses required for implementations could lead to more rigorous rulemaking processes, potentially challenging under the Administrative Procedure Act if not properly justified.
- Constitutional Implications: Aligns with Congress's constitutional power to regulate commerce and oversee federal agencies (Article I), promoting checks and balances without infringing on executive foreign affairs powers, as it focuses on domestic reporting rather than dictating international policy.
- Political Implications: Signals a push for U.S. financial sovereignty amid concerns over global influences (e.g., on climate-related banking rules via forums like the Network for Greening the Financial System), potentially appealing to those favoring reduced international regulatory harmonization. It may spark debates on balancing global cooperation for financial stability against national control, but remains neutral on specific policy outcomes.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Loudermilk, Barry [R-GA-11]
Cosponsors (6)
Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6], Rep. Flood, Mike [R-NE-1], Rep. Rose, John W. [R-TN-6], Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17], Rep. Davidson, Warren [R-OH-8], Rep. Moore, Tim [R-NC-14]
Recent Actions
- 2026-02-25: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 454.
- 2026-02-25: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 119-529.
- 2026-02-25: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 119-529.
- 2025-12-17: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 29 - 23.
- 2025-12-17: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- 2025-12-16: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- 2025-12-10: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
- 2025-12-10: Introduced in House
- 2025-12-10: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency Act of 2025 — issued 2025-12-10 — PDF (20 pages)
- American Financial Institution Regulatory Sovereignty and Transparency Act of 2025 — issued 2026-02-25 — PDF (22 pages)