I 

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. 

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 ‘‘Task Force to End 

5 Financial Abuse Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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•HR 9966 IH

1 (1) Economic abuse is a serious issue impacting 

2 vulnerable populations. 

3 (2) Economic abuse occurs in 99 percent of 

4 abusive relationships and is the number 1 reason 

5 victims of abuse stay in or return to abusive rela6 tionships. 

7 (3) Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse 

8 and an avenue for abusers to limit the economic 

9 independence of an individual. 

10 (4) Coerced debt occurs when an abuser utilizes 

11 coercive control or identity theft to incur debt in the 

12 name of an individual. 

13 (5) Coerced debt can occur via threat, force, or 

14 fraud in the context of ongoing domestic abuse, 

15 which can be physical, emotional, or financial. 

16 (6) Coerced debt can subject a survivor to de17 stroyed credit, substantial payment expectations, 

18 debt collection, and even bankruptcy. 

19 (7) Addressing coerced debt requires a coordi20 nated approach across Federal, State, and local 

21 agencies to ensure comprehensive support and pro22 tection for survivors. 

23 (8) There is a need for an interagency task 

24 force to develop and implement strategies to address 

25 coerced debt and its impact on survivors. 


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•HR 9966 IH

1 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON COERCED DEBT. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

4 of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau of Con5 sumer Financial Protection shall establish a task force to 

6 be known as the Interagency Task Force on Coerced Debt 

7 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

8 (b) COMPOSITION OF THE TASK FORCE.— 

9 (1) CO-CHAIRS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

10 and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Finan11 cial Protection, or designees, shall serve as co-chairs 

12 of the Task Force. 

13 (2) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall be com14 posed of— 

15 (A) the Secretary of Health and Human 

16 Services, or a designee; 

17 (B) the Director of the Office of Family 

18 Violence Prevention and Services, or a designee; 

19 (C) the Director of the Office on Women’s 

20 Health, or a designee; 

21 (D) the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

22 Development, or a designee; 

23 (E) the Attorney General, or a designee; 

24 (F) the Director of the Office on Violence 

25 Against Women, or a designee; 


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•HR 9966 IH

1 (G) the Chairperson of the Federal Trade 

2 Commission, or a designee; and 

3 (H) representatives, appointed by the 

4 President, from— 

5 (i) a national domestic violence advo6 cacy organization; 

7 (ii) a financial institution; 

8 (iii) a credit reporting agency; and 

9 (iv) a nonprofit organization that pro10 vides financial literacy and credit coun11 seling services. 

12 (c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 

13 (1) define the term ‘‘coerced debt’’; 

14 (2) identify the scope and impact of coerced 

15 debt on domestic violence survivors, including the 

16 prevalence of coerced debt and the financial, legal, 

17 and social consequences of coerced debt for domestic 

18 violence survivors; 

19 (3) facilitate interagency collaboration and in20 formation sharing to ensure a coordinated response 

21 to coerced debt, including training for law enforce22 ment, social service providers, and financial institu23 tions with respect to identifying and addressing co24 erced debt; 


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1 (4) engage with stakeholders, including domes2 tic violence survivors, advocacy organizations, and fi3 nancial institutions to inform the development of 

4 policies and practices to address coerced debt; and 

5 (5) provide recommendations for legislative and 

6 regulatory changes to address coerced debt, includ7 ing Federal legislative proposals to protect domestic 

8 violence survivors from coerced debt. 

9 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 on which all the members of the Task Force have been 

11 appointed, the Task Force shall publish on a public 

12 website and submit to the Committee on Financial Serv13 ices of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

14 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the 

15 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa16 tives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and 

17 any other committee of the Congress that the Task Force 

18 determines appropriate a report that contains the findings 

19 and recommendations required under subsection (c). 

20 (e) SUNSET.—The Task Force shall terminate on the 

21 date that is 60 days after the date of the submission to 

22 the Congress of the report required under subsection (d). 

Æ 


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