H.R. 8278, Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision Act

August 27, 2026

Cost Estimate

As reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on June 24, 2026

At a GlanceH.R. 8278, Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision ActAs reported by the House Committee on Financial Services on June 24, 2026
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars		2026	2026-2031	2026-2036
Direct Spending (Outlays)		0	1	1
Revenues		0	*	-1
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit		0	1	2
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)		0	1	not estimated
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	< $2.5 billion	Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?		Yes
	< $2.5 billion	Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	< $5 billion	Contains intergovernmental mandate?		No
	< $5 billion	Contains private-sector mandate?		Yes, Under Threshold
* = between -$500,000 and zero.
The bill would Require federal financial regulators to assess how their technological systems inhibit real-time supervision of regulated entities and how their procurement rules limit the testing of new technologies Increase the cost of an existing private-sector mandate if regulators increase annual fees to offset the cost of implementing the bill
Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from Increases in administrative costs for federal agencies to complete assessments and reports

Bill Summary

H.R. 8278 would require the federal financial regulators to assess how their technological systems inhibit real-time supervision of regulated entities and how their procurement rules limit the testing of new technologies. The federal financial regulators under the bill consist of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In addition, the bill would require those agencies to jointly report to the Congress 18 months after completing the assessments and then every five years on various issues, including their use of hardware and software, procurement practices, and information technology workforce.

Estimated Federal Cost

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 8278 would increase direct spending by $1 million, decrease revenues by $1 million, and increase the deficit by $2 million over the 2026-2036 period. In addition, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase spending subject to appropriation by $1 million over the 2026-2031 period.

Basis of Estimate

CBO assumes that H.R. 8278 will be enacted at the beginning of fiscal year 2027. Using information about the cost of similar provisions, CBO estimates that each agency would need about two employees in 2027 and every subsequent five years, at an average annual cost of $280,000 per employee in 2027, to complete the assessments and reports.

Direct Spending

Expenditures for the FDIC, FHFA, NCUA, and OCC are classified in the budget as direct spending. The FHFA, NCUA, and OCC collect fees from regulated entities to offset their operating costs. Those fees are recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts, that is, as reductions in direct spending. Accounting for those fees, CBO estimates that, on net, enacting H.R. 8278 would increase direct spending by $1 million over the 2026-2036 period.

The CFPB is permanently authorized to spend amounts transferred from the combined earnings of the Federal Reserve to carry out its responsibilities, subject to a statutory cap that was most recently lowered by the 2025 reconciliation act (P.L. 119-21). CBO expects that the CFPB will spend all the transferred funds up to its cap in each year over the 2026‑2036 period for its current activities, so CBO does not attribute any increase in direct spending for the CFPB to legislation that increases its responsibilities.

Revenues

The Federal Reserve transfers to the Treasury the income it earns in excess of its expenses; those payments, known as remittances, are recorded in the budget as revenues. Costs incurred by the Federal Reserve therefore reduce revenues. CBO estimates that H.R. 8278 would decrease revenues by $1 million over the 2026-2036 period.

Changes in costs for the Federal Reserve banks have historically resulted in changes to remittances during the same year. However, since fiscal year 2023, most Federal Reserve banks have recorded deferred assets to account for accrued net losses from expenses in excess of income. As a result, remittances have been largely suspended. In CBO’s projections, those deferred assets persist for several years. CBO anticipates that most Federal Reserve banks will resume remittances by 2030 or 2031 and thus most of the effects of changes in costs before that time are reflected in the budget as changes in revenues only after that time.[1]

Spending Subject to Appropriation

CBO estimates that it would cost FinCEN $1 million over the 2026-2031 period to implement the bill’s requirements; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase direct spending by $1 million and decrease revenues by $1 million over the 2026-2036 period.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 8278 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 8278 would not increase on‑budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037.

Mandates

If federal financial regulators increase annual fees to offset the costs of implementing provisions of H.R. 8278, it would increase the costs of an existing private-sector mandate on entities required to pay those fees. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be small and would fall well below the annual threshold established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) for private-sector mandates ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).

The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

Estimate Prepared By

Federal Costs:
David Hughes (for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
Julia Aman (for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit
Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)
Zunara Naeem (for the Federal Housing Finance Agency)

Revenues: Nate Frentz (for the Federal Reserve)

Mandates: Rachel Austin

Estimate Reviewed By

Justin Humphrey
Chief, Finance, Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

H. Samuel Papenfuss
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis

Estimate Approved By

Phillip L. Swagel Director, Congressional Budget Office

Phillip L. Swagel

Director, Congressional Budget Office

1.For more information, see Congressional Budget Office, “Recent Changes to CBO’s Projections of Remittances From the Federal Reserve” (slide deck, February 2023), www.cbo.gov/publication/58913.