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Union Calendar No. 540 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5013 

[Report No. 116–656] 

To apply the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to small businesses to 

the same extent as such Act applies to consumers, to require the Director 

of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to define ‘‘small business’’ for purposes of such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2019 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

DECEMBER 16, 2020 

Additional sponsor: Mr. CLEAVER

DECEMBER 16, 2020 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 8, 2019] 


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•HR 5013 RH

A BILL 

To apply the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to small 

businesses to the same extent as such Act applies to 

consumers, to require the Director of the Bureau of 

Consumer Financial Protection to define ‘‘small business’’ for purposes of such Act, and for other purposes. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
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•HR 5013 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Fair 

5 Debt Collection Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR LOANS TO 

7 SMALL BUSINESSES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Debt Collection Practices 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 803— 

11 (A) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(5) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation or al14 leged obligation to pay money arising out of a trans15 action, whether or not such obligation has been re16 duced to judgment.’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(9) The term ‘commercial credit bureau’ means 

20 any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a co21 operative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole 

22 or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating 

23 commercial credit information or other information 

24 on businesses for the purpose of furnishing credit re25 ports to third parties, and which uses any means or 


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1 facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of pre2 paring or furnishing credit reports.’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating section 819 as section 820; 

4 and 

5 (3) by inserting after section 818 the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 819. Application to small business debt 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall apply to small 

8 business debt to the same extent as this Act applies to debt 

9 of consumers. 

10 ‘‘(b) SMALL BUSINESS DEBT DEFINED.—The term 

11 ‘small business debt’— 

12 ‘‘(1) means any non-equity obligation or alleged 

13 obligation of a partnership, corporation, trust, estate, 

14 cooperative, association, government or governmental 

15 subdivision or agency, or other entity that is less than 

16 $5,000,000; and 

17 ‘‘(2) does not include any obligation or alleged 

18 obligation— 

19 ‘‘(A) of an individual; or 

20 ‘‘(B) that is primarily for personal, family, 

21 or household purposes.’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 

23 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is amended by strik24 ing the item relating to section 819 and inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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‘‘819. Application to small business debt. 

‘‘820. Effective date.’’. 

1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Debt Col2 lection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended— 

3 (1) in section 805(b), by inserting ‘‘or a commer4 cial credit bureau (as applicable)’’ after ‘‘consumer 

5 reporting agency’’; 

6 (2) in section 806(3)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘consumers who’’ and in8 serting ‘‘consumers or small businesses that’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘ or to a commercial credit 

11 bureau (as applicable),’’ after ‘‘consumer report12 ing agency’’; and 

13 (3) in section 807(16), by inserting ‘‘or a com14 mercial credit bureau’’ after ‘‘this Act’’. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to apply the 

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to small business debt 

to the same extent as such Act applies to consumers, and 

for other purposes.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 540 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5013 

[Report No. 116–656] 

A BILL 

To apply the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to 

and for other purposes. define ‘‘small business’’ for purposes of such Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to applies to consumers, to require the Director of small businesses to the same extent as such Act 

DECEMBER 16, 2020 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Dec 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H5013.RH H5013

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