# House passes four bills to modernize finance and cut waste

> Congress votes on bank tech upgrades, penny elimination, fraud prevention, and whistleblower protections.
- Title: House passes four bills to modernize finance and cut waste
- Summary: Congress votes on bank tech upgrades, penny elimination, fraud prevention, and whistleblower protections. The House is pushing financial regulators to…
- Keywords: house of representatives, financial regulation, bank oversight, futures act, common cents act, guard act, whistleblower protection act, congress, financial technology, fraud prevention, penny production, business
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/legal/2026/house-votes-to-modernize-bank-oversight-and-kill-the-penny
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-09-17T19:36:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: house of representatives, financial regulation, bank oversight, futures act, common cents act, guard act, whistleblower protection act, congress, financial technology, fraud prevention, penny production, business
## House modernizes bank oversight with tech
The FUTURES Act passed 417 to 7, requiring financial regulators to assess their tech capabilities and make examinations more efficient and responsive.

> In the age of AI, it is imperative that regulatory technology keep up with monetary technological development.
## AI threats prompt financial system safeguards
Rep. Bill Foster warned that agentic AI poses new risks like bank runs and cybersecurity threats, making continuous tech assessment essential for consumer protection.

> Agentic AI is bringing new threats to our financial system, possibly intensifying bank runs and other cybersecurity risks.
## House votes to eliminate penny production
The Common Cents Act passed by voice vote, ending penny production because the government spends nearly four cents to make a penny worth one cent.

> If the federal government is spending nearly four cents to make a penny worth one cent, something is broken.
## New tools to fight elder financial fraud
The GUARD Act passed 414 to 7, letting law enforcement use federal grant funds to investigate financial crimes and improving coordination on emerging fraud trends.

> The GUARD Act gives our cops and investigators the tools and the resources to hunt these fraudsters down.
## Whistleblower protections expanded for HUD
The Whistleblower Protection Act passed unanimously 424 to 0, extending protections to HUD contractors with pre-2013 contracts that were previously excluded.

> This legislation fixes that by providing much-needed clarity to HUD and ensuring whistleblower protections apply to every HUD contractor.
## Key takeaway

The House is pushing financial regulators to modernize their technology while tackling penny production costs and strengthening protections for fraud victims and whistleblowers.