Pennsylvania Legislature
2026
Legislative Issues:
Legislative Issue: Reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Cosponsor the TABS Act (H.R. 654) and the Rectifying UDAAP Act (H.R. 1652)
ISSUE
Reform of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is necessary to ensure greater accountability, transparency, and balance of power within the agency. Created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB is responsible for protecting consumers from abusive financial practices. However, its current structure, particularly its single-director leadership and independent funding from the Federal Reserve, grants it excessive autonomy with limited oversight from Congress or the executive branch. By introducing checks and balances, such as more prescriptive limitations on its authorities and subjecting its budget to congressional appropriations, CFPB reform could preserve the agency’s consumer protection mission while aligning its governance with broader principles of transparency and oversight. The House of Representatives should pass H.R. 654, the “Taking Account of Bureaucrats’ Spending Act” (TABS Act) which would rebrand the CFPB the “Consumer Financial Empowerment Agency,” establish it as an agency outside of the Federal Reserve System, and transition its funding structure to the congressional appropriations process. The House of Representatives should also pass H.R. 1652, the Rectifying Undefined Descriptions of Abusive Acts and Practices Act” (Rectifying UDAAP Act) which would amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act to establish and enforce standards related to unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices under the CFPB’s authorities. There are currently no companion bills in the Senate.
The CFPB’s novel funding structure and independence from the executive branch has received perennial criticism for being a catalyst for overly zealous oversight of the consumer financial services marketplace. Congress is not involved in setting or approving the CFPB’s budget, which diminishes its ability to conduct oversight of its activities. This has led to significant swings in the CFPB’s market conduct posture based on who occupies the White House, with patterns of serial abuse of UDAAP authorities to advance what can be described as an activist enforcement agenda. Clear and unambiguous definitions of what constitutes a UDAAP violation will bring much-needed clarity to the marketplace and the processes through which covered entities design and implement their compliance management systems.
Subjecting the CFPB’s budget to the annual appropriations process will allow Congress to use “the power of the purse” to maintain important checks and balances on the CFPB’s day-to-day operations, ensuring fairness in its marketplace supervision, its rulemaking efforts, and its use of non-binding policy guidance which in the past has factored into its enforcement activities.
WHY IT MATTERS
- The CFPB’s interpretation of what constitutes a UDAAP violation has varied based on the Director. Since the CFPB opened its doors, regulated institutions have lacked a clear and consistent definition of the term “abusive” and have received limited and oftentimes murky guidance on what constitutes a UDAAP violation. This regulatory uncertainty generates unnecessary and avoidable compliance costs, drives arbitrary enforcement actions, and limits consumer choice.
- The CFPB’s novel funding structure has held the agency harmless from meaningful congressional oversight. The CFPB’s flawed funding structure has kept it insulated from congressional oversight and unaccountable to the lawmakers the American public elect to serve as a check on the federal bureaucracy. The TABS Act will rein in the CFPB by giving Congress more say in its activities and making the CFPB better stewards of taxpayer dollars.
- R. 654 and H.R. 1652 will bring clarity and consistency to an agency that has exploited its nearly limitless powers. Independent automobile dealers serve their customers best when their compliance obligations are clear, transparent, and fair.
H.R. 654 and H.R. 1652 were introduced by Representative Andy Barr (R-KY). Both bills were the focus of a legislative hearing on March 26, 2025 in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. H.R. 654 has 14 cosponsors. H.R. 1652 has five cosponsors. Members should cosponsor H.R. 654 and 1652 to bring much needed reform to the CFPB. These bills are incremental steps towards reforming an agency that has strayed from its core mission to protect consumers from financial harm. The Senate should introduce companion legislation.
Legislative Issue: Support a Consumer’s Right to Repair Their Vehicle and Reduce Costs
Co-Sponsor the REPAIR Act (H.R. 1566 and S. 1379)
ISSUE
Consumers and their designees should have access to their motor vehicle data, critical repair information, tools to repair their vehicles, and not be limited in their choices for the maintenance, service, and repair of their vehicles. Congress should pass H.R. 1566 and S. 1379, the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act” (REPAIR Act). These bipartisan bills promote consumer choice and safety, and allow independent repair shops and aftermarket parts suppliers to compete fairly with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their associated dealerships.
The bills prohibit OEMs from using technological or legal barriers that prevent vehicle owners or their designees from accessing vehicle-generated data and critical repair information. This includes access through vehicle interface ports and wireless technology. OEMs must provide unrestricted access to repair information and tools, allowing vehicle owners to choose their repair options freely. The legislation establishes an advisory committee within 90 days of enactment to address competition issues in the motor vehicle repair industry and ensure consumer control over vehicle-generated data. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is tasked with promulgating regulations within 180 days of enactment to inform vehicle owners of their rights under this Act at the point of purchase. Violations of the Act will be treated as unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act, allowing for enforcement and penalties.
WHY IT MATTERS
- Freedom of choice is important to consumers. Recent polling suggests more than 83% of Americans support a national right-to-repair law, ensuring consumers’ ability to choose how and where they fix their vehicles.
- The cost of repairing a vehicle has grown exponentially over the past 18 years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for motor vehicle repairs are 184.3% higher in 2025 than they were in 1997. A $500 repair in 1997 would cost approximately $1,400 in 2025.
- Main Street verses Monopoly. Independent repair shops represent 70% of auto repairs in the United States. Without equitable access to repair data and parts, these small businesses and the jobs they generate could be forced out of the market.
- More competition will reduce consumers’ costs and expenses. The Acts would empower consumers and enable independent providers to compete in a closed system that is weighted heavily in favor of the OEMs. These Acts will increase competition and greatly reduce the costs of labor and parts that consumers pay to maintain or repair their vehicles.
- Consumers’ rights to repair and control the vehicles they purchase must be recognized. Consumers’ rights to repair the products they buy is an inherent aspect of ownership. These Acts will ensure that consumers’ rights to control the vehicles they purchase are recognized and preserved.
- The Acts are about consumer choice. The Acts will ensure that vehicle data and repair information would be in the hands of vehicle owners. Consumers will also be able to determine which repair provider(s) they designate would be permitted to access that information to perform repair and maintenance services on their vehicle. The Acts will ensure that consumers can choose the who, where, when, and at what cost their vehicle can be maintained or repaired.
- The Acts will benefit rural consumers. Through increased competition and greater access, the Acts will ensure that rural consumers can obtain important repairs to their vehicles locally, quickly and at reasonable costs.
STATUS
H.R. 1566 was introduced by Reps. Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and has 31 additional cosponsors. The bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. S. 1379 was introduced by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) and has six additional cosponsors. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Members should cosponsor H.R. 1566 and S. 1379 to help support a consumer’s right to repair their vehicles and reduce costs.
CALL TO ACTION!
Sample Letters: REPAIR Act to Representative | REPAIR Act to Senator
Legislative Issue: Fight Rising Catalytic Converter Theft
Cosponsor the Bipartisan PART Act (S. 2238)
ISSUE
Catalytic converters have become prime targets for thieves and are being stolen at high rates due to their precious metals content, such as rhodium, platinum and palladium. Thieves can easily steal catalytic converters from unattended vehicles, and since catalytic converters are not readily traceable, there is a lucrative market for these stolen parts. These thefts are costing businesses and individual vehicle owners millions of dollars. Replacing a catalytic converter is costly and often difficult due to demand. The Senate should pass S. 2238, the “Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act” (PART Act), which would assist law enforcement in combatting catalytic converter theft by marking catalytic converters and creating a more transparent market that disrupts this pernicious black-market activity. There is currently no companion bill in the House of Representatives.
As required by the Clean Air Act, catalytic converters reduce toxic emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles. Valuable precious metals in the catalytic converter remove many toxic elements from the exhaust. The price of these precious metals has risen sharply, making catalytic converters a prime target for theft. Stolen catalytic converters can garner anywhere from $50 to $300 on the black market. Catalytic converters for hybrid vehicles can sell for up to $1,500. The replacement cost to vehicle owners is up to $3,000.
Catalytic converters are easy to steal, but generally very difficult to trace to a specific vehicle, allowing them to be sold in illicit underground marketplaces. The lack of traceable identifying marks makes the theft of catalytic converters difficult to curb. Some thefts of catalytic converters have turned violent. The behavior made national news in 2024 when a screen actor was gunned down when he confronted thieves removing the catalytic converter from his Toyota Prius on a Los Angeles street. Several states have enacted laws to combat this crime. However, because this crime frequently involves trafficking stolen parts across state lines, a federal framework is needed to aid the efforts of local law enforcement.
The PART Act includes a $7 million grant program through which certain entities can voluntarily stamp VINs, or other identifiers, onto the catalytic converters of vehicles at no cost to vehicle owners. Dealers are specifically eligible to utilize this grant program. The bill also requires new vehicles to have unique, traceable identifying numbers stamped on catalytic converters at the time of assembly, and requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to revise motor vehicle theft prevention standards to include catalytic converters. Additionally, the bill requires sales to be conducted through traceable payment methods, increases record-keeping requirements for purchasers, and establishes a federal criminal penalty for the theft, sale, trafficking, or known purchase of stolen catalytic converters that includes fines and imprisonment.
WHY IT MATTERS
- Catalytic converter theft remains high due to the rising cost of precious metals contained in each device. A typical catalytic converter contains three to seven grams of platinum, two to seven grams of palladium, and one to two grams of rhodium, which makes for an enticing profit for thieves who are skilled at forum-shopping for complicit or willfully blind scrap yards.
- Catalytic converters are not currently one of the 18 vehicle parts required to be marked with a VIN or number traceable to a VIN. Law enforcement states such tracing in the legislation is critical to help deter the theft and trafficking of stolen catalytic converters since it would make it easier to prosecute criminals.
- S. 2238 provides a national framework to help law enforcement combat catalytic converter theft. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, since 2023 there have been over 150 state bills introduced addressing catalytic converter thefts, but since this crime frequently involves trafficking stolen parts across state lines, a federal standard is needed to help law enforcement address the problem at a national level.
STATUS
S. 2238 was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Members should cosponsor S. 2238 to help curb the growing national problem of catalytic converter theft. The House of Representatives should introduce companion legislation, as it did during the 118th Congress.
Legislative Articles found in MidAtlantic Dealer News Magazines:
FTC, CFPB, and state regulators are tightening scrutiny on dealerships. Are you prepared? This article explains why compliance is now a core business strategy.
Stay updated on legislative changes impacting dealerships. Read about NIADA's efforts against over-regulation, CFPB rule changes, and resources for dealer compliance and advocacy.
Patrick O’Brien from NIADA recently addressed the importance of compliance in dealerships at the 2025 MidAtlantic Convention & Vendor Tailgate, urging dealers to engage in advocacy as legislation impacts their businesses.
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee meeting held in Washington, where NIADA members advocated for crucial legislation impacting independent auto dealers.
Uncover how the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" could reshape your business. Pennsylvania dealers should prepare for key inspection updates and biennial PennDOT fee adjustments. There are also changes to the MDOT tax and more!
New legislation seeks to streamline the management of abandoned vehicles at auctions, impacting dealers and storage fees significantly.
Positive outlook on maintaining the Excise Tax Exemption for Trade-in Vehicles in Maryland and a cautionary tale for all MidAtlantic IADA members.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly's 209th Session begins January 7, 2025, with all unpassed legislation needing reintroduction. Despite a divided government, fresh faces will emerge due to 19 retirements, including a Senate defeat. Republican Dave Sunday will be sworn in as the new Attorney General, setting the stage for collaboration on key issues, particularly in the automotive industry, in the upcoming year.
Contact your Representatives and Senators by State
Kathy SabaskiIn-house Governmental, Legislative & Policy Coordinator, Member of the NIADA Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee
Anyone needing governmental or legislative assistance can contact Kathy.
(717) 238-9002
kathy@midatlanticiada.org
If you haven't read the email yet, I encourage you to check it out!
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