H.R. 4544 · 119th Congress

American Access to Banking Act

Introduced on Jul 17, 2025 by Maxine Waters (D-CA-43). Latest action (May 21, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 17, 2025
Cosponsors
0
Policy area
Finance and Financial Sector
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To direct certain Federal banking and credit union agencies to promote the formation of de novo regulated institutions through the review of application processes, the review of capital raising by de novo regulated institutions, and the establishment of various outreach programs, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Banking and financial institutions regulation
  • Financial services and investments
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Licensing and registrations
  • State and local government operations

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Jul 17, 2025). Public domain.

American Access to Banking Act

This bill requires federal financial regulators to review and streamline the application process for the formation of de novo, or new, depository institutions or credit unions.

Regulators must (1) review the application process; (2) to the extent practicable, collect necessary information from other agencies in order to minimize requests for applicant information; and (3) review how de novo financial intuitions raise capital while maintaining investor protections, including the impact of restrictions on raising capital.

At the request of an applicant, regulators must (1) designate an employee as a caseworker to assist in the application process, and (2) provide a list of similar institutions interested in serving as a mentor.

Each regulator must also develop a state and stakeholder engagement plan to assist interested parties with understanding the relevant regulatory processes.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Maxine WatersD-CA-43Sponsor

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    May 20, 2026· House· Passage· Passed 405–4

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 17, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Jul 17, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Jul 17, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
  4. Jul 22, 2025 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. Jul 23, 2025 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  6. Jul 23, 2025 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 49 - 0.
  7. Sep 8, 2025Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 119-253.
  8. Sep 8, 2025 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Financial Services. H. Rept. 119-253.
  9. Sep 8, 2025 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 210.
  10. May 19, 2026 · HouseMr. Hill (AR) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  11. May 19, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3584-3586; text: CR H3584-3585)
  12. May 19, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4544.
  13. May 19, 2026 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  14. May 20, 2026 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3645)
  15. May 20, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 405 - 4 (Roll no. 178).House · Roll call 178
  16. May 20, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 405 - 4 (Roll no. 178).House · Roll call 178
  17. May 20, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  18. May 21, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, INC.4 reports
    $4.6M reported (all issues)
  2. American Bankers Association3 reports
    $8.4M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATIONAI match · 100%
  3. CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING, A SUPPORTING CORP OF CTR FOR COMMUNITY SELF-HELP2 reports
    $150K reported (all issues)
  4. INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY BANKERS OF AMERICA1 report
    $2.2M reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.