# 119-s-3849: Community Bank Relief Act

119-s-3849, Community Bank Relief Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3849
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3849
- Congress: 119
- Title: Community Bank Relief Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-11
- Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would create automatic, annual inflation adjustments to the dollar amount used in payment-card fee rules under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.** It ties that dollar amount to changes in the Consumer Price Index and sets a schedule for an initial catch-up and yearly updates. - Community banks and similar small issuers would see the dollar threshold that affects rules on reasonable payment-card fees rise with inflation, which changes which institutions the fee rules apply to. - The designated Board would make a one-time adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index change from October 2009 to October 2025, then update the amount each year using the October CPI no later than January 15, with the first scheduled adjustment by July 1, 2026.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher allowed card fees for merchants: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would index the monetary amount that governs reasonable payment-card fees to inflation. The Board would make a one-time increase equal to the percent change in the Consumer Price Index from October 2009 to October 2025. After that, the amount would be adjusted each year by the…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026
- 119-s-2975: PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025
- 119-s-2010: TERMS Act

## Sources
- [119-s-3849 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3849)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668)
- [119-s-2975: PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2975)
- [119-s-2010: TERMS Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2010)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3849 (as of 2026-04-21).