A bill to require Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation of the Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

This bill would change who can appoint and confirm the Inspector General (IG) for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB). Specifically, it would require the President to appoint and the Senate to confirm the IGs for both the Fed and the CFPB, rather than relying on the existing appointment process. The bill also creates a new set of “Special provisions” (Section 425) clarifying the IGs’ authorities: they would oversee the CFPB as if it were part of the Fed and could audit a Federal reserve bank without the bank’s permission. Additionally, it would extend certain oversight provisions (via 5 U.S.C. § 412(a)) to these IGs and the Fed Chair, and it updates the table of sections to reflect these changes. In essence, the bill strengthens presidential and Senate oversight of the IGs for these two major financial regulators and expands the IGs’ investigative reach and authority over the Fed and the CFPB.