Preserving Independence of Financial Institution Examinations Act of 2003
Public Law 108-198 · S. 1947 · 108th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 19, 2003 · Crime and Law Enforcement
Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Orrin Hatch
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Preserving Independence of Financial Institution Examinations Act of 2003 - Amends Federal criminal law to subject to criminal penalties: (1) personnel of a financial institution who offer a loan or gratuity to a financial institution examiner; and (2) a financial institution examiner who accepts such loan or gratuity.
Authorizes a Federal financial institution regulatory agency to prescribe regulations establishing additional limitations on the application for and receipt of credit and on the application and receipt of residential mortgage loans, after consulting with each other Federal financial institution regulatory agency.
Excludes from the meaning of financial institution covered by this Act a credit union, a Federal Reserve Bank, a Federal home loan bank, or a depository institution holding company.
Declares that the term "loan" does not include any credit card account established under an open end consumer credit plan, or a loan secured by residential real property that is the principal residence of the examiner, if certain requirements are met.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Judiciary Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Dec 19, 2003Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 108-198.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 11, 2003FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 8, 2003FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Smith (TX) asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Judiciary discharged.
- Nov 28, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
- Nov 25, 2003FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Nov 24, 2003FloorFloor · Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.