Military Families Credit Reporting Act

Summary: Military Families Credit Reporting Act  This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to an item of adverse information about an active duty military consumer. Declares that, if the action or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred while the consumer was an active duty military consumer, then: (1) the consumer may provide appropriate proof, including official orders, to a consumer reporting agency that the consumer was an active duty military consumer at the time the action or inaction occurred; and (2) any consumer report made by the agency including that item of information shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that the consumer was an active duty military consumer when the action or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred. Requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to prepare and make publicly available a model form that allows a consumer to: (1) notify a consumer reporting agency that the consumer is an active duty military consumer, and (2) provide the consumer's contact information for communicating with the consumer while he or she is an active duty military consumer. Requires a consumer reporting agency to notify promptly an active duty military consumer whenever it receives an item of adverse information about him or her, along with a description of the item and the method by which the consumer can dispute the validity of the item. Requires an agency also to use any separate contact information an active duty military consumer has given it for all communications while the individual is an active duty military consumer. Declares the sense of Congress that any person making use of a consumer report containing an item of adverse information that occurred while the consumer was an active duty military consumer should take that fact into account when evaluating the consumer's creditworthiness. Requires a consumer reporting agency, with respect to an item of information under dispute by an active duty military consumer, to include in the consumer's file that he or she was an active duty military consumer at the time the action or inaction that gave rise to the disputed item occurred, and indicate this fact in each consumer report that includes the disputed item.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Families Credit Reporting 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE OF STATUS AS AN ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY CONSUMER.

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 605, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Notice of Status as an Active Duty Military Consumer.--
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to an item of adverse 
        information about a consumer, if the action or inaction that 
        gave rise to the item occurred while the consumer was an active 
        duty military consumer, the consumer may provide appropriate 
        proof, including official orders, to a consumer reporting 
        agency that the consumer was an active duty military consumer 
        at the time such action or inaction occurred, and any consumer 
        report provided by the consumer reporting agency that includes 
        the item shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that the 
        consumer was an active duty military consumer when the action 
        or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred.
            ``(2) Model form.--The Bureau shall prepare a model form, 
        which shall be made publicly available, including in an 
        electronic format, that allows a consumer to--
                    ``(A) notify, and provide appropriate proof to, a 
                consumer reporting agency in a simple and easy manner, 
                including electronically, that the consumer is an 
                active duty military consumer; and
                    ``(B) provide contact information of the consumer 
                for the purpose of communicating with the consumer 
                while the consumer is an active duty military 
                consumer.'';
            (2) in section 605A--
                    (A) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 
                        and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), 
                        respectively, and adjusting the margins 
                        accordingly;
                            (ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), as so redesignated, by striking ``Upon'' 
                        and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Upon''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Negative information notification.--If a consumer 
        reporting agency receives an item of adverse information about 
        a consumer who has provided appropriate proof that the consumer 
        is an active duty military consumer, the consumer reporting 
        agency shall promptly notify the consumer--
                    ``(A) that the consumer reporting agency has 
                received the item of adverse information, along with a 
                description of the item; and
                    ``(B) the method by which the consumer may dispute 
                the validity of the item.
            ``(3) Contact information for active duty military 
        consumers.--If a consumer who has provided appropriate proof to 
        a consumer reporting agency that the consumer is an active duty 
        military consumer provides the consumer reporting agency with 
        contact information for the purpose of communicating with the 
        consumer while the consumer is an active duty military 
        consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall use such contact 
        information for all communications while the consumer is an 
        active duty military consumer.
            ``(4) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        any person making use of a consumer report that contains an 
        item of adverse information should, if the action or inaction 
        that gave rise to the item occurred while the consumer was an 
        active duty military consumer, take such fact into account when 
        evaluating the creditworthiness of the consumer.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (3) 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(3) subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(1), in 
        the case of a referral under subsection (c)(1)(C).''; and
            (3) in section 611(a)(1), by adding at the end the 
        following:
                    ``(D) Notice of dispute related to active duty 
                military consumers.--With respect to an item of 
                information described under subparagraph (A) that is 
                under dispute, if the consumer to whom the item relates 
                has notified the consumer reporting agency, and has 
                provided appropriate proof, that the consumer was an 
                active duty military consumer at the time the action or 
                inaction that gave rise to the disputed item occurred, 
                the consumer reporting agency shall--
                            ``(i) include such fact in the file of the 
                        consumer; and
                            ``(ii) indicate such fact in each consumer 
                        report that includes the disputed item.''.