H.R. 6554: Community Bank Representation Act

H.R. 6554 would give smaller banks a designated voice inside the Federal Reserve, instead of leaving their concerns folded into broader big-bank supervision.

Right now, federal law still uses an older $10 billion asset figure in this part of the Fed's structure. This bill removes that older benchmark and centers the new role on banks under $17 billion in assets, which pulls in a wider slice of local and regional institutions.

The Fed chair would have to select one governor with primary experience working in or supervising community banks. That person would help develop policy recommendations and oversee supervision for the banks covered by the bill, while consulting with the vice chair for supervision and any other governors with similar experience.

If the community-bank governor is not the Fed's vice chair for supervision, that governor would also have to testify to Congress twice a year about how the Fed is regulating banks under the $17 billion line.

The bill also tries to keep that threshold from going stale. In any year when nominal U.S. GDP rises, the Fed would adjust the dollar thresholds using Bureau of Economic Analysis GDP data rather than leaving the number fixed forever.

In practice, this bill is about who speaks for smaller banks when regulators write rules that can affect local lending, compliance costs, and how hard it is for community banks to compete.