The Senate voted Thursday to strike down a rule capping most bank overdraft fees at $5, a measure adopted late last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that had been expected to save Americans billions of dollars per year.
Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, was the lone Republican to oppose the resolution, which passed on a nearly party-line vote, 52-48. It will now move to the House, where Representative French Hill, the Arkansas Republican who leads the Financial Service Committee, introduced a parallel resolution last month.
The rule would have limited the fees banks and credit unions could charge when customers spend more than they have in their accounts, typically $35 per overdraft. The bureau estimated it would save American households $5 billion a year. It was immediately challenged in court by banking trade groups.
The resolution was done through the Congressional Review Act, a 1996 law that permits lawmakers to reverse recently adopted regulations with a simple majority vote. It cannot be filibustered. The overdraft rule, which the consumer bureau finalized in December after years of preparatory work, was scheduled to take effect in late 2025.
Democrats are preparing to fight the resolution in the House, where they hope the slim Republican majority will work in their favor.
The American Bankers Association, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, praised the Senate’s action.
“If implemented, the C.F.P.B.’s 11th-hour rule imposing government price controls would force many banks to limit or eliminate overdraft protection as we know it,” said Rob Nichols, the trade group’s chief executive. “Many Americans would be driven to less regulated and higher risk non-bank lenders to cover unexpected or emergency expenses.”
Consumer advocates said the rule’s elimination would allow banks and credit unions to continue charging fees far higher than their actual costs for the service.
“Repealing the C.F.P.B.’s overdraft fee limits will hurt working families who are already struggling with high prices and inflation,” said Chuck Bell, the advocacy program director at Consumer Reports.
