II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4801 

To provide that all persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment 

of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, and accommodations of financial institutions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 19, 2020 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. 

WARREN, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide that all persons shall be entitled to the full 

and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, 

privileges, and accommodations of financial institutions. 

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 ‘‘Fair Access to Finan5 cial Services Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—All persons shall be entitled to the 

8 full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, 


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•S 4801 IS

1 privileges, and accommodations of any financial institu2 tion, as defined in section 803 of the Payment, Clearing, 

3 and Settlement Supervision Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5462), 

4 without discrimination on the ground of race, color, reli5 gion, national origin, and sex (including sexual orientation 

6 and gender identity). 

7 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any person has 

9 engaged or there are reasonable grounds to believe 

10 that any person is about to engage in any act or 

11 practice prohibited by subsection (a), a civil action 

12 for preventive relief, including an application for a 

13 permanent or temporary injunction, restraining 

14 order, or other order, may be instituted by the per15 son aggrieved. 

16 (2) COSTS.—In any action commenced pursu17 ant to this section, the court, in its discretion, may 

18 allow the prevailing party, other than the United 

19 States, a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the 

20 costs, and the United States shall be liable for costs 

21 the same as a private person. 

22 (3) JURISDICTION.—The district courts of the 

23 United States shall have jurisdiction of proceedings 

24 instituted pursuant to this section and shall exercise 

25 the same without regard to whether the aggrieved 


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•S 4801 IS

1 party shall have exhausted any administrative or 

2 other remedies that may be provided by law. 

3 (4) EXCLUSIVE MEANS.—The remedies pro4 vided in this subsection shall be the exclusive means 

5 of enforcing the rights based on this section, but 

6 nothing in this section shall preclude any individual 

7 or any State or local agency from asserting any 

8 right based on any other Federal or State law not 

9 inconsistent with this section, including any statute 

10 or ordinance requiring nondiscrimination in goods, 

11 services, facilities, privileges, and accommodations of 

12 any financial institution, or from pursuing any rem13 edy, civil or criminal, which may be available for the 

14 vindication or enforcement of such right. 

Æ 


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