HB2155, the “Saving Privacy Act,” is a broad financial privacy and regulatory reform bill. Its core provisions would sharply limit federal access to bank records by requiring a search warrant for access to financial records, while also revising and in many places repealing portions of the Bank Secrecy Act framework. The bill also adds new criminal, civil, and equitable remedies for unlawful disclosure of financial records, and it expressly states that federal access to financial records may not exceed what the Fourth Amendment permits.
Beyond bank privacy, the bill would terminate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Consolidated Audit Trail, prohibit federal agencies from creating similar centralized databases of personally identifiable information without specific statutory authorization, and bar federal reserve banks and other federal entities from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to individuals or maintaining related accounts. It also includes a major REINS Act-style overhaul of the congressional review process for agency rules, requiring more detailed reporting, congressional approval for major rules, and additional review of existing rules over time. Finally, it would roll back IRS reporting rules for third-party payment networks and prohibit federal restrictions on the use of convertible virtual currency and self-hosted wallets for personal purchases.
If enacted, the bill would substantially amend the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, multiple provisions of title 31 governing financial reporting and anti-money-laundering requirements, the Administrative Procedure Act’s congressional review framework, the Federal Reserve Act, and section 6050W of the Internal Revenue Code. It would narrow federal access to financial records, eliminate or reduce several Bank Secrecy Act-related authorities, and create new penalties and remedies for violations. It would also affect SEC market surveillance infrastructure, federal digital currency policy, and IRS information reporting for online payment platforms, with direct consequences for banks, regulators, securities markets, payment processors, cryptocurrency users, and federal agencies.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the materials. Based on the bill text, the measure is framed as a privacy and anti-surveillance package, suggesting support from lawmakers concerned with financial privacy, limits on federal regulatory power, and cryptocurrency freedom. The absence of voting history means there is no evidence here of bipartisan support or opposition, only the bill’s stated policy goals.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s sweeping rollback of financial surveillance and regulatory tools. Supporters would likely emphasize stronger privacy protections, warrant requirements, limits on centralized data collection, and protection for digital currency use. Opponents would likely focus on the bill’s impact on anti-money-laundering enforcement, suspicious activity monitoring, tax compliance, securities market oversight, and the government’s ability to investigate financial crime. The REINS-style rulemaking provisions are also likely to be controversial because they would significantly increase congressional control over agency regulations and could slow or block implementation of federal rules.