I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10509 

To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicemember, and small business 

protections with respect to debt collection practices, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2024 

Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicemember, 

and small business protections with respect to debt collection practices, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS LENDING FAIRNESS ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Obligor transactions. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 10509 IH

Sec. 103. Enforcement of security interests. 

TITLE II—FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR 

SERVICEMEMBERS ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Enhanced protection against debt collector harassment of 

servicemembers. 

Sec. 203. GAO study and report. 

TITLE III—PRIVATE LOAN DISABILITY DISCHARGE ACT 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Protections for obligors and cosigners in case of death or total and 

permanent disability. 

TITLE IV—CONSUMER PROTECTION FOR MEDICAL DEBT 

COLLECTIONS ACT 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Amendments to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

Sec. 403. Prohibition on consumer reporting agencies reporting certain medical 

debt. 

Sec. 404. Requirements for furnishers of medical debt information. 

TITLE V—ENDING DEBT COLLECTION HARASSMENT ACT 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Consumer protections relating to debt collection practices. 

TITLE VI—STOP DEBT COLLECTION ABUSE ACT 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Definitions. 

Sec. 603. Debt collection practices for debt collectors hired by Federal agencies. 

Sec. 604. Unfair practices. 

Sec. 605. GAO study and report. 

TITLE VII—DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES HARMONIZATION ACT 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Award of damages. 

Sec. 703. Prohibition on the referral of emergency individual assistance debt. 

TITLE VIII—NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE DEBT COLLECTION 

CLARIFICATION ACT 

Sec. 801. Short title. 

Sec. 802. Enforcement of security interests. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. Effective date. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 10509 IH

1 TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS 

2 LENDING FAIRNESS ACT 

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Lend5 ing Fairness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 102. OBLIGOR TRANSACTIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend8 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 140B. Unfair credit practices 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In connection with the extension 

12 of credit or creation of debt in or affecting commerce, as 

13 defined in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

14 (15 U.S.C. 44), including any advance of funds or sale 

15 or assignment of future income or receivables that may 

16 or may not be credit, no person may directly or indirectly 

17 take or receive from another person or seek to enforce an 

18 obligation that constitutes or contains a cognovit or con19 fession of judgment (for purposes other than executory 

20 process in the State of Louisiana), warrant of attorney, 

21 or other waiver of the right to notice and the opportunity 

22 to be heard in the event of suit or process thereon. 

23 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION.—The exemptions described in sec24 tion 104 shall not apply to this section.’’. 

25 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (1) Section 130 of the Truth in Lending Act 

2 (15 U.S.C. 1640) is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(m) CREDITOR.—In this section, the term ‘creditor’ 

5 refers to any person charged with compliance that is not 

6 the obligor.’’. 

7 (2) The table of sections in chapter 2 of the 

8 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘140B. Unfair credit practices.’’. 

10 SEC. 103. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 

11 Section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 1602) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ff) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation of a per14 son to pay to another person money— 

15 ‘‘(1) that includes the right of the person pro16 viding the money to a legal or an equitable remedy 

17 for breach of performance if the breach gives rise to 

18 a right to payment; and 

19 ‘‘(2) regardless of whether the obligation or 

20 right to a remedy described in paragraph (1) is ab21 solute or contingent, has been reduced to judgment, 

22 is fixed, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, 

23 recourse, nonrecourse, secured, or unsecured’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 10509 IH

1 TITLE II—FAIR DEBT COLLEC2 TION PRACTICES FOR 

3 SERVICEMEMBERS ACT 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Debt Collection 

6 Practices for Servicemembers Act’’. 

7 SEC. 202. ENHANCED PROTECTION AGAINST DEBT COL8 LECTOR HARASSMENT OF 

9 SERVICEMEMBERS. 

10 (a) COMMUNICATION IN CONNECTION WITH DEBT

11 COLLECTION.—Section 805 of the Fair Debt Collection 

12 Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692c) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING SERVICEMEM15 BER DEBTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

17 ‘covered member’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) a covered member or a dependent as 

19 defined in section 987(i) of title 10, United 

20 States Code; and 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) an individual who was separated, 

22 discharged, or released from duty described in 

23 such section 987(i)(1), but only during the 365- 

24 day period beginning on the date of separation, 

25 discharge, or release; or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) a person, with respect to an individual 

2 described in clause (i), described in subpara3 graph (A), (D), (E), or (I) of section 1072(2) 

4 of title 10, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.—A debt collector may not, 

6 in connection with the collection of any debt of a 

7 covered member— 

8 ‘‘(A) threaten to have the covered member 

9 reduced in rank; 

10 ‘‘(B) threaten to have the covered mem11 ber’s security clearance revoked; or 

12 ‘‘(C) threaten to have the covered member 

13 prosecuted under chapter 47 of title 10, United 

14 States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Jus15 tice).’’. 

16 (b) UNFAIR PRACTICES.—Section 808 of the Fair 

17 Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amend18 ed by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(9) The representation to any covered member 

20 (as defined under section 805(e)(1)) that failure to 

21 cooperate with a debt collector will result in— 

22 ‘‘(A) a reduction in rank of the covered 

23 member; 

24 ‘‘(B) a revocation of the covered member’s 

25 security clearance; or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(C) prosecution under chapter 47 of title 

2 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of 

3 Military Justice).’’. 

4 SEC. 203. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

6 States shall conduct a study on the impact of debt collec7 tion on covered members (as defined under section 

8 805(e)(1) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, as 

9 added by section 202), which shall— 

10 (1) identify types of false, deceptive, misleading, 

11 unfair, abusive, and harassing debt collection prac12 tices experienced by covered members and make rec13 ommendations to eliminate these practices; 

14 (2) identify collection practices of creditors and 

15 debt collectors experienced by covered members; 

16 (3) discuss the effect of these practices on mili17 tary readiness; and 

18 (4) discuss any national security implications, 

19 including the extent to which covered members with 

20 security clearances would be impacted by uncollected 

21 debt. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

25 completed study required under subsection (a). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 10509 IH

1 TITLE III—PRIVATE LOAN 

2 DISABILITY DISCHARGE ACT 

3 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Private Loan Dis5 ability Discharge Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 302. PROTECTIONS FOR OBLIGORS AND COSIGNERS IN 

7 CASE OF DEATH OR TOTAL AND PERMANENT 

8 DISABILITY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 140(g) of the Truth in 

10 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(g)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘IN CASE

13 OF DEATH OF BORROWER’’; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after 

15 ‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per16 manent disability’’; and 

17 (C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after 

18 ‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per19 manent disability’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN CASE OF DEATH OR TOTAL

22 AND PERMANENT DISABILITY OF BORROWER.—The 

23 holder of a private education loan shall, when noti24 fied of the death or total and permanent disability 

25 of a student obligor (and any cosigner), discharge 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 10509 IH

1 the liability of the student obligor on the loan and 

2 may not, after such notification— 

3 ‘‘(A) attempt to collect on the outstanding 

4 liability of the student obligor; and 

5 ‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent 

6 disability, monitor the disability status of the 

7 student obligor at any point after the date of 

8 discharge. 

9 ‘‘(4) PRIVATE DISCHARGE IN CASES OF CER10 TAIN DISCHARGE FOR DEATH OR DISABILITY.—The 

11 holder of a private education loan shall, when noti12 fied of the discharge of liability of a student obligor 

13 on a loan described under section 108(f)(5)(A) of 

14 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, discharge any li15 ability of the student obligor (and any cosigner) on 

16 any private education loan which the private edu17 cation loan holder holds and may not, after such no18 tification— 

19 ‘‘(A) attempt to collect on the outstanding 

20 liability of the student obligor; and 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent 

22 disability, monitor the disability status of the 

23 student obligor at any point after the date of 

24 discharge. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(5) TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY DE2 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection and 

3 with respect to an individual, the term ‘total and 

4 permanent disability’ means the individual is totally 

5 and permanently disabled, as such term is defined in 

6 section 685.102(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Reg7 ulations.’’. 

8 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Director of the Bureau of 

9 Consumer Financial Protection may issue rules to imple10 ment the amendments made by subsection (a) as the Di11 rector determines appropriate. 

12 TITLE IV—CONSUMER PROTEC13 TION FOR MEDICAL DEBT 

14 COLLECTIONS ACT 

15 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Protection 

17 for Medical Debt Collections Act’’. 

18 SEC. 402. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION 

19 PRACTICES ACT. 

20 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 803 of the Fair Debt Col21 lection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(9) The term ‘medical debt’ means a debt aris24 ing from the receipt of medical services, products, or 

25 devices.’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (b) UNFAIR PRACTICES.—Section 808 of the Fair 

2 Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f), as 

3 amended by section 202(b), is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(10) Engaging in activities to collect or at6 tempting to collect a medical debt before the end of 

7 the 2-year period beginning on the date that the 

8 first payment with respect to such medical debt is 

9 due.’’. 

10 SEC. 403. PROHIBITION ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN11 CIES REPORTING CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT. 

12 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re13 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(bb) MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘medical debt’ 

16 means a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, 

17 products, or devices. 

18 ‘‘(cc) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE.—The 

19 term ‘medically necessary procedure’ means— 

20 ‘‘(1) health care services or supplies needed to 

21 diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, dis22 ease, or its symptoms and that meet accepted stand23 ards of medicine; and 

24 ‘‘(2) health care to prevent illness or detect ill25 ness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 10509 IH

1 work best (including preventive services such as pap 

2 tests, flu shots, and screening mammograms).’’. 

3 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit 

4 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(9) Any information related to a debt arising 

7 from a medically necessary procedure. 

8 ‘‘(10) Any information related to a medical 

9 debt, if the date on which such debt was placed for 

10 collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to 

11 any similar action antedates the report by less than 

12 365 calendar days.’’. 

13 SEC. 404. REQUIREMENTS FOR FURNISHERS OF MEDICAL 

14 DEBT INFORMATION. 

15 (a) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED16 ICAL DEBT.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting 

17 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED20 ICAL DEBT.—Before furnishing information regarding a 

21 medical debt of a consumer to a consumer reporting agen22 cy, the person furnishing the information shall send a 

23 statement to the consumer that includes the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) A notification that the medical debt— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(A) may not be included on a consumer 

2 report made by a consumer reporting agency 

3 until the later of the date that is 365 days 

4 after— 

5 ‘‘(i) the date on which the person 

6 sends the statement; 

7 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the medical debt 

8 of a borrower demonstrating hardship, a 

9 date determined by the Director of the Bu10 reau; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) the date described under section 

12 605(a)(10); and 

13 ‘‘(B) may not ever be included on a con14 sumer report made by a consumer reporting 

15 agency, if the medical debt arises from a medi16 cally necessary procedure. 

17 ‘‘(2) A notification that, if the debt is settled or 

18 paid by the consumer or an insurance company be19 fore the end of the period described under paragraph 

20 (1)(A), the debt may not be reported to a consumer 

21 reporting agency. 

22 ‘‘(3) A notification that the consumer may— 

23 ‘‘(A) communicate with an insurance com24 pany to determine coverage for the debt; or 

25 ‘‘(B) apply for financial assistance.’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (b) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMA2 TION.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1681s–2), as amended by subsection (a), is further 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(g) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON REPORTING DEBT RE8 LATED TO MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURES.— 

9 No person shall furnish any information to a con10 sumer reporting agency regarding a debt arising 

11 from a medically necessary procedure. 

12 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL DEBT IN13 FORMATION.—With respect to a medical debt not 

14 described under paragraph (1), no person shall fur15 nish any information to a consumer reporting agen16 cy regarding such debt before the end of the 365- 

17 day period beginning on the later of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date on which the person sends 

19 the statement described under subsection (f) to 

20 the consumer; 

21 ‘‘(B) with respect to the medical debt of a 

22 borrower demonstrating hardship, a date deter23 mined by the Director of the Bureau; or 

24 ‘‘(C) the date described in section 

25 605(a)(10). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF SETTLED OR PAID MED2 ICAL DEBT.—With respect to a medical debt not de3 scribed under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish 

4 any information to a consumer reporting agency re5 garding such debt if the debt is settled or paid by 

6 the consumer or an insurance company before the 

7 end of the 365-day period described under para8 graph (2). 

9 ‘‘(4) BORROWER DEMONSTRATING HARDSHIP

10 DEFINED.—In this subsection, and with respect to a 

11 medical debt, the term ‘borrower demonstrating 

12 hardship’ means a borrower or a class of borrowers 

13 who, as determined by the Director of the Bureau, 

14 is facing or has experienced extenuating life cir15 cumstances or events that result in severe financial 

16 or personal barriers such that the borrower or class 

17 of borrowers does not have the capacity to repay the 

18 medical debt.’’. 

19 TITLE V—ENDING DEBT 

20 COLLECTION HARASSMENT ACT 

21 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

22 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Debt Collec23 tion Harassment Act of 2024’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 10509 IH

1 SEC. 502. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS RELATING TO DEBT 

2 COLLECTION PRACTICES. 

3 (a) REPORTS ON DEBT COLLECTION COMPLAINTS

4 AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 

5 (1) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 1016(c) of 

6 the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 

7 U.S.C. 5496(c)) is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(10) an analysis of the consumer complaints 

14 received by the Bureau with respect to debt collec15 tion, including a State-by-State breakdown of such 

16 complaints; 

17 ‘‘(11) an analysis of the number of people un18 able to pay a debt because a debt collector is unable 

19 to accept a cash payment; and 

20 ‘‘(12) a list of enforcement actions taken 

21 against debt collectors during the preceding year.’’. 

22 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 815(a) of the 

23 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 1692m(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Each such report shall also 

26 include an analysis of the impact of electronic comVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 24, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10509.IH H10509

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 10509 IH

1 munications by debt collectors on consumer experi2 ences with debt collection, including a consideration 

3 of consumer complaints about the use of electronic 

4 communications in debt collection.’’. 

5 (b) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.— 

6 Section 1022 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 

7 of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5512) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.— 

10 The Director may not issue any rule with respect to debt 

11 collection that does not prohibit a debt collector to send 

12 unlimited email, text messages, and direct messages 

13 through social media to a consumer.’’. 

14 (c) PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS FROM UNLIMITED

15 TEXTS, EMAILS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES USED IN

16 DEBT COLLECTION.—Section 806 of the Fair Debt Col17 lection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692d) is amended by 

18 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(7) Contacting the person electronically, in20 cluding by email, text message, and direct message 

21 through social media, if— 

22 ‘‘(A) the communication is required to be 

23 in writing and the person has not consented to 

24 receive the communication electronically in ac25 cordance with the requirements of the ElecVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Jan 24, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10509.IH H10509

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 10509 IH

1 tronic Signatures in Global and National Com2 merce Act; 

3 ‘‘(B) the communication is governed by the 

4 Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the 

5 person has not consented to receive such com6 munication in accordance with the requirements 

7 of such Act; 

8 ‘‘(C) consent by the person to receive the 

9 communication was not provided directly to the 

10 debt collector; 

11 ‘‘(D) consent by the person to receive the 

12 communication electronically has been with13 drawn; or 

14 ‘‘(E) the frequency of contact by the debt 

15 collector is greater than consented to by the 

16 person.’’. 

17 (d) PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS FROM SOCIAL

18 MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS IN DEBT COLLECTION.—Sec19 tion 808(7) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended by inserting the following before 

21 the period: ‘‘or through a social media platform if the com22 munication is viewable by the general public or the per23 son’s social media contacts’’. 

24 (e) ENSURING CONSUMERS RECEIVE NOTICE OF

25 DEBT COLLECTION PROTECTIONS.—Section 809(a) of the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 10509 IH

1 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)) 

2 is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘Within five days’’ and all that 

4 follows through ‘‘any debt,’’ and inserting the fol5 lowing: ‘‘NOTICE OF DEBT; CONTENTS.—Within five 

6 days after the initial communication with a con7 sumer in connection with the collection of any 

8 debt,’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘, unless the following informa10 tion is contained in the initial communication or the 

11 consumer has paid the debt,’’. 

12 (f) IMPROVED LIMITATIONS ON DEBT COLLECTION

13 RULES.—Section 814(d) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac14 tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692l(d)) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: ‘‘Such rules— 

16 ‘‘(1) may not allow a debt collector to send un17 limited electronic communications to a consumer; 

18 ‘‘(2) shall require debt collectors to obtain con19 sent directly from consumers before contacting them 

20 using a method other than by postal mail or by tele21 phone; 

22 ‘‘(3) may not waive the requirements of the 

23 Electronic Signatures in Global and National Com24 merce Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.); and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(4) shall allow consumers to opt out of any 

2 method of communication that the debt collector 

3 uses to communicate with consumers, including a 

4 method for which such consumer had given prior 

5 consent.’’. 

6 TITLE VI—STOP DEBT 

7 COLLECTION ABUSE ACT 

8 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Debt Collection 

10 Abuse Act of 2024’’. 

11 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 

13 (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘facilitating 

15 collection of such debt for another’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘collection of such debt’’; 

17 (2) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(5) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation or 

20 alleged obligation of a consumer— 

21 ‘‘(A) to pay money arising out of a trans22 action in which the money, property, insurance 

23 or services which are the subject of the trans24 action are primarily for personal, family, or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 10509 IH

1 household purposes, whether or not such obliga2 tion has been reduced to judgment; 

3 ‘‘(B) to pay a loan, overpayment, fine, pen4 alty, restitution, fee, or other money currently 

5 or originally owed to or guaranteed by a Fed6 eral or State government, including any courts 

7 or agencies; or 

8 ‘‘(C) which is secured by real or personal 

9 property that is used or was obtained primarily 

10 for personal, family, or household purposes, 

11 where such property is subject to forfeiture or 

12 repossession upon nonpayment of the obligation 

13 or alleged obligation. 

14 The enforcement of a debt described in subpara15 graph (C) is deemed to be a collection of a debt.’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) in paragraph (6)— 

18 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (F) as clauses (i) through (vi), respec20 tively; 

21 (B) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by 

22 inserting ‘‘(not including an independent con23 tractor)’’ after ‘‘any State’’; 

24 (C) by amending clause (vi), as so redesig25 nated, to read as follows: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(vi) any person collecting or attempting 

2 to collect any debt owed or due or asserted to 

3 be owed or due another to the extent such ac4 tivity— 

5 ‘‘(I) is incidental to a bona fide fidu6 ciary obligation or a bona fide escrow ar7 rangement; 

8 ‘‘(II) concerns a debt which was origi9 nated by such person; 

10 ‘‘(III) concerns a debt which was not 

11 in default at the time it was obtained by 

12 such person; or 

13 ‘‘(IV) concerns a debt obtained by 

14 such person as a secured party in a com15 mercial credit transaction involving the 

16 creditor.’’; 

17 (D) by striking the paragraph designation 

18 and the first and second sentences and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘debt collector’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) any person who uses any instrumen22 tality of interstate commerce or the mails in 

23 any business the principal purpose of which is 

24 the collection of any debts; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) any person who regularly collects or 

2 attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, by the 

3 person’s own means or by hiring another debt 

4 collector, debts owed or due or asserted to be 

5 owed or due another or that have been obtained 

6 by assignment or transfer from another; 

7 ‘‘(iii) any person who regularly collects 

8 debts currently or originally owed or allegedly 

9 owed to a Federal or State agency or court; or 

10 ‘‘(iv) notwithstanding subparagraph 

11 (B)(vi), any creditor who in the process of col12 lecting debts of such creditor, uses another 

13 name that would indicate that a third person is 

14 collecting or attempting to collect such debts.’’; 

15 and 

16 (E) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘The term does not include’’ and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(B) The term does not include’’. 

20 SEC. 603. DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR DEBT COL21 LECTORS HIRED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Debt Collection Prac23 tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

24 after section 812 (15 U.S.C. 1692j) the following: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘§ 812A. Debt collection practices for debt collectors 

2 hired by Federal agencies 

3 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON TIME TO TURN DEBT OVER TO

4 DEBT COLLECTOR.—A Federal agency that is a creditor 

5 may not sell or transfer a debt described in section 

6 803(5)(B) to a debt collector earlier than 90 days after 

7 the date on which the obligation or alleged obligation be8 comes delinquent or defaults. 

9 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED NOTICE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before transferring or sell11 ing a debt described in section 803(5)(B) to a debt 

12 collector or contracting with a debt collector to col13 lect such a debt, a Federal agency shall notify the 

14 consumer not fewer than 3 times that the Federal 

15 agency will take such action. 

16 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY OF NOTIFICATIONS.—The 

17 second and third notifications described in para18 graph (1) shall be made not less than 30 days after 

19 the date on which the previous notification is 

20 made.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is amended by 

23 inserting after the item relating to section 812 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘812A. Debt collection practices for debt collectors hired by Federal agencies.’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 10509 IH

1 SEC. 604. UNFAIR PRACTICES. 

2 Section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 

3 (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended by striking paragraph (1) 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) The collection of any amount (including 

6 any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the 

7 principal obligation) unless— 

8 ‘‘(A) such amount is expressly authorized 

9 by the agreement creating the debt or permitted 

10 by law; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of any amount charged by 

12 a debt collector collecting a debt described in 

13 section 803(5)(B), such amount is— 

14 ‘‘(i) reasonable in relation to the ac15 tual costs of the collection; 

16 ‘‘(ii) authorized by a contract between 

17 the debt collector and the Federal or State 

18 government; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) not greater than 10 percent of 

20 the amount collected by the debt col21 lector.’’. 

22 SEC. 605. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

23 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

24 States shall commence a study on the use of debt collec25 tors by Federal and State government agencies, includ26 ing— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (1) the powers given to the debt collectors by 

2 Federal and State government agencies; 

3 (2) the contracting process that allows a Fed4 eral or State government agency to award debt col5 lection to a certain company, including the selection 

6 process; 

7 (3) any fees charged to debtors in addition to 

8 principal and interest on the outstanding debt; 

9 (4) how the fees described in paragraph (3) 

10 vary from State to State; 

11 (5) consumer protection at the Federal and 

12 State level that offer recourse to those whom debts 

13 have been wrongfully attributed; 

14 (6) the revenues received by debt collectors 

15 from Federal and State government agencies; 

16 (7) the amount of any revenue sharing agree17 ments between debt collectors and Federal and State 

18 government agencies; 

19 (8) the difference in debt collection procedures 

20 across geographic regions, including the extent to 

21 which debt collectors pursue court judgments to col22 lect debts; 

23 (9) information regarding the amount collected 

24 by Federal and State government agencies through 

25 debt collectors, including the total amount and the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 10509 IH

1 percentage of the amount referred to the debt collec2 tors; 

3 (10) the full cost of outsourcing collection to 

4 debt collectors; 

5 (11) government agency oversight of debt col6 lectors to ensure that the rights of a consumer (as 

7 defined in section 803(3) of the Fair Debt Collection 

8 Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(3))) are protected 

9 and that any debt relief and payment options legally 

10 available to consumers is effectively communicated 

11 and made available; 

12 (12) the extent to which Federal and State con13 tracts with debt collectors reflect or omit effective 

14 measures to encourage debt collectors to align their 

15 practices with public policy concerns (including relief 

16 for consumers experiencing financial hardship) be17 yond maximizing debt collection; 

18 (13) the extent to which debt collectors induce 

19 payment through use or threat of adverse govern20 ment actions, such as arrest warrants or suspension 

21 of licenses or vehicle registration; and 

22 (14) demographic data, including race and in23 come information, regarding the individuals subject 

24 to private collection of debts owed to government en25 tities. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 10509 IH

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

2 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

3 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

4 completed study required under subsection (a). 

5 (c) STATE DEFINED.—For the purposes of this sec6 tion, the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given the term 

7 section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

8 TITLE VII—DEBT COLLECTION 

9 PRACTICES HARMONIZATION 

10 ACT 

11 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Debt Collection Prac13 tices Harmonization Act’’. 

14 SEC. 702. AWARD OF DAMAGES. 

15 (a) ADDITIONAL DAMAGES INDEXED FOR INFLA16 TION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 813 of the Fair 

18 Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k) is 

19 amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

22 or’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘with re23 spect to any one action taken by a debt 

24 collector in violation of this subchapter; 

25 or’’; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik2 ing ‘‘or 1 per centum of the net worth of 

3 the debt collector; and’’ and inserting the 

4 following: ‘‘or 5 percent of the gross an5 nual revenue of the debt collector; and’’; 

6 (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘the 

7 maximum amount of statutory damages at the 

8 time of noncompliance,’’ before ‘‘the frequency’’ 

9 each place it appears; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.—Not later than 90 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this sub14 section, the Bureau shall provide a percentage in15 crease (rounded to the nearest multiple of $100 or 

16 $1,000, as applicable) in the amounts set forth in 

17 this section equal to the percentage by which— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index for All 

19 Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 

20 average) for the 12-month period ending on the 

21 June 30 preceding the date on which the per22 centage increase is provided, exceeds 

23 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the 12- 

24 month period preceding January 1, 1978. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 10509 IH

1 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—With respect to 

2 any fiscal year beginning after the date of the in3 crease provided under paragraph (1), the Bureau 

4 shall provide a percentage increase (rounded to the 

5 nearest multiple of $100 or $1,000, as applicable) in 

6 the amounts set forth in this section equal to the 

7 percentage by which— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index for All 

9 Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 

10 average) for the 12-month period ending on the 

11 June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal 

12 year for which the increase is made, exceeds 

13 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the 12- 

14 month period preceding the 12-month period 

15 described in subparagraph (A).’’. 

16 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The increases made under 

17 section 813(f) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 

18 Act, as added by paragraph (1)(C) of this sub19 section, shall apply with respect to failures to comply 

20 with a provision of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et 

21 seq.) occurring on or after the date of enactment of 

22 this section. 

23 (b) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Section 813(d) of the Fair 

24 Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(d)) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In a civil 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 10509 IH

1 action alleging a violation of this title, the court may 

2 award appropriate relief, including injunctive relief.’’. 

3 SEC. 703. PROHIBITION ON THE REFERRAL OF EMERGENCY 

4 INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE DEBT. 

5 Chapter 3 of title 31, United States Code, is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subchapter II, by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘§ 334. Prohibition on the referral of emergency indi10 vidual assistance debt 

11 ‘‘With respect to any assistance provided by the Fed12 eral Emergency Management Agency to an individual or 

13 household pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re14 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et 

15 seq.), if the Secretary of the Treasury seeks to recoup any 

16 amount of such assistance because of an overpayment, the 

17 Secretary may not contract with any debt collector as de18 fined in section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac19 tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) or other private party to 

20 collect such amounts, unless the overpayment occurred be21 cause of fraud or deceit and the recipient of such assist22 ance knew or should have known about such fraud or de23 ceit.’’; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 10509 IH

1 (2) in the table of contents for such chapter, by 

2 inserting after the item relating to section 333 the 

3 following: 

‘‘334. Prohibition on the referral of emergency individual assistance debt.’’. 

4 TITLE VIII—NON-JUDICIAL 

5 FORECLOSURE DEBT COL6 LECTION CLARIFICATION ACT 

7 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Non-Judicial Fore9 closure Debt Collection Clarification Act’’. 

10 SEC. 802. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 

11 Section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 

12 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is further amended by striking 

13 ‘‘For the purpose of section 808(6), such term also in14 cludes any person who uses any instrumentality of inter15 state commerce or the mails in any business the principal 

16 purpose of which is the enforcement of security inter17 ests.’’. 

18 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

19 PROVISIONS 

20 SEC. 901. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

21 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act and 

22 the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 

23 date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS