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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9966 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9966

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau 
  of Consumer Financial Protection to establish the Interagency Task 
             Force on Coerced Debt, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2024

Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mrs. Houchin, Ms. Pettersen, Mrs. Wagner, 
Ms. Williams of Georgia, and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau 
  of Consumer Financial Protection to establish the Interagency Task 
             Force on Coerced Debt, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Task Force to End Financial Abuse 
Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Economic abuse is a serious issue impacting vulnerable 
        populations.
            (2) Economic abuse occurs in 99 percent of abusive 
        relationships and is the number 1 reason victims of abuse stay 
        in or return to abusive relationships.
            (3) Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse and an avenue 
        for abusers to limit the economic independence of an 
        individual.
            (4) Coerced debt occurs when an abuser utilizes coercive 
        control or identity theft to incur debt in the name of an 
        individual.
            (5) Coerced debt can occur via threat, force, or fraud in 
        the context of ongoing domestic abuse, which can be physical, 
        emotional, or financial.
            (6) Coerced debt can subject a survivor to destroyed 
        credit, substantial payment expectations, debt collection, and 
        even bankruptcy.
            (7) Addressing coerced debt requires a coordinated approach 
        across Federal, State, and local agencies to ensure 
        comprehensive support and protection for survivors.
            (8) There is a need for an interagency task force to 
        develop and implement strategies to address coerced debt and 
        its impact on survivors.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON COERCED DEBT.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall establish 
a task force to be known as the Interagency Task Force on Coerced Debt 
(in this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
    (b) Composition of the Task Force.--
            (1) Co-chairs.--The Secretary of the Treasury and the 
        Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, or 
        designees, shall serve as co-chairs of the Task Force.
            (2) Members.--The Task Force shall be composed of--
                    (A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or 
                a designee;
                    (B) the Director of the Office of Family Violence 
                Prevention and Services, or a designee;
                    (C) the Director of the Office on Women's Health, 
                or a designee;
                    (D) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
                or a designee;
                    (E) the Attorney General, or a designee;
                    (F) the Director of the Office on Violence Against 
                Women, or a designee;
                    (G) the Chairperson of the Federal Trade 
                Commission, or a designee; and
                    (H) representatives, appointed by the President, 
                from--
                            (i) a national domestic violence advocacy 
                        organization;
                            (ii) a financial institution;
                            (iii) a credit reporting agency; and
                            (iv) a nonprofit organization that provides 
                        financial literacy and credit counseling 
                        services.
    (c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) define the term ``coerced debt'';
            (2) identify the scope and impact of coerced debt on 
        domestic violence survivors, including the prevalence of 
        coerced debt and the financial, legal, and social consequences 
        of coerced debt for domestic violence survivors;
            (3) facilitate interagency collaboration and information 
        sharing to ensure a coordinated response to coerced debt, 
        including training for law enforcement, social service 
        providers, and financial institutions with respect to 
        identifying and addressing coerced debt;
            (4) engage with stakeholders, including domestic violence 
        survivors, advocacy organizations, and financial institutions 
        to inform the development of policies and practices to address 
        coerced debt; and
            (5) provide recommendations for legislative and regulatory 
        changes to address coerced debt, including Federal legislative 
        proposals to protect domestic violence survivors from coerced 
        debt.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which all the 
members of the Task Force have been appointed, the Task Force shall 
publish on a public website and submit to the Committee on Financial 
Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate, and any other committee of the Congress that 
the Task Force determines appropriate a report that contains the 
findings and recommendations required under subsection (c).
    (e) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate on the date that is 60 
days after the date of the submission to the Congress of the report 
required under subsection (d).
                                 <all>
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