IB 

Union Calendar No. 10 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2547 

[Report No. 117–23] 

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 

APRIL 15, 2021 

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. DEAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

APRIL 30, 2021 

Reported with an amendment, 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 April 15, 2021] 


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A BILL 

To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicemember, 

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


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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. 

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. 


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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—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 901. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS 

2 LENDING FAIRNESS ACT 

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Lending 

5 Fairness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 102. OBLIGOR TRANSACTIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending 

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

9 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 or 

15 assignment of future income or receivables that may or may 

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

17 receive from another person or seek to enforce an obligation 

18 that constitutes or contains a cognovit or confession of judg19 ment (for purposes other than executory process in the State 


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1 of Louisiana), warrant of attorney, or other waiver of the 

2 right to notice and the opportunity to be heard in the event 

3 of suit or process thereon. 

4 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION.—The exemptions described in sec5 tion 104 shall not apply to this section.’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Section 130 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 1640) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

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

11 refers to any person charged with compliance that is not 

12 the obligor.’’. 

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

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

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘140B. Unfair credit practices.’’. 

16 SEC. 103. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 

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

18 1602) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(ff) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation of a person 

20 to pay to another person money— 

21 ‘‘(1) regardless of whether such obligation is ab22 solute or contingent; 

23 ‘‘(2) that includes the right of the person pro24 viding the money to an equitable remedy for breach 


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1 of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to 

2 payment; and 

3 ‘‘(3) regardless of whether the obligation or right 

4 to an equitable remedy described in paragraph (2) 

5 has been reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, ma6 tured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, recourse, 

7 nonrecourse, secured, or unsecured.’’. 

8 TITLE II —FAIR DEBT COLLEC9 TION PRACTICES FOR 

10 SERVICEMEMBERS ACT 

11 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

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

13 Practices for Servicemembers Act’’. 

14 SEC. 202. ENHANCED PROTECTION AGAINST DEBT COL15 LECTOR HARASSMENT OF SERVICEMEMBERS. 

16 (a) COMMUNICATION IN CONNECTION WITH DEBT

17 COLLECTION.—Section 805 of the Fair Debt Collection 

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

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING SERVICEMEMBER

21 DEBTS.— 

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

23 ‘covered member’ means— 


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

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

3 States Code; and 

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

5 discharged, or released from duty described in 

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

7 day period beginning on the date of separation, 

8 discharge, or release; or 

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

10 described in clause (i), described in subpara11 graph (A), (D), (E), or (I) of section 1072(2) of 

12 title 10, United States Code. 

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

14 in connection with the collection of any debt of a cov15 ered member— 

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

17 reduced in rank; 

18 ‘‘(B) threaten to have the covered member’s 

19 security clearance revoked; or 

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

21 prosecuted under chapter 47 of title 10, United 

22 States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Jus23 tice).’’. 


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

2 Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

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

5 (as defined under section 805(e)(1)) that failure to co6 operate with a debt collector will result in— 

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

8 member; 

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

10 security clearance; or 

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

12 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of 

13 Military Justice).’’. 

14 SEC. 203. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

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

16 States shall conduct a study on the impact of debt collection 

17 on covered members (as defined under section 805(e)(1) of 

18 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, as added by section 

19 202), which shall— 

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

21 unfair, abusive, and harassing debt collection prac22 tices experienced by covered members and make rec23 ommendations to eliminate these practices; 

24 (2) identify collection practices of creditors and 

25 debt collectors experienced by covered members; 


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1 (3) discuss the effect of these practices on mili2 tary readiness; and 

3 (4) discuss any national security implications, 

4 including the extent to which covered members with 

5 security clearances would be impacted by uncollected 

6 debt. 

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

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

9 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the com10 pleted study required under subsection (a). 

11 TITLE III—PRIVATE LOAN 

12 DISABILITY DISCHARGE ACT 

13 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Private Loan Disability 

15 Discharge Act of 2021’’. 

16 SEC. 302. PROTECTIONS FOR OBLIGORS AND COSIGNERS IN 

17 CASE OF DEATH OR TOTAL AND PERMANENT 

18 DISABILITY. 

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

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

21 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

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

23 DEATH OF BORROWER’’; 


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

2 ‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per3 manent disability’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per6 manent disability’’; and 

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

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

9 AND PERMANENT DISABILITY OF BORROWER.—The 

10 holder of a private education loan shall, when notified 

11 of the death or total and permanent disability of a 

12 student obligor, discharge the liability of the student 

13 obligor on the loan and may not, after such notifica14 tion— 

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

16 liability of the student obligor; and 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent dis18 ability, monitor the disability status of the stu19 dent obligor at any point after the date of dis20 charge. 

21 ‘‘(4) PRIVATE DISCHARGE IN CASES OF CERTAIN

22 DISCHARGE FOR DEATH OR DISABILITY.—The holder 

23 of a private education loan shall, when notified of the 

24 discharge of liability of a student obligor on a loan 

25 described under section 108(f)(5)(A) of the Internal 


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1 Revenue Code of 1986, discharge any liability of the 

2 student obligor (and any cosigner) on any private 

3 education loan which the private education loan hold4 er holds and may not, after such notification— 

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

6 liability of the student obligor; and 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent dis8 ability, monitor the disability status of the stu9 dent obligor at any point after the date of dis10 charge. 

11 ‘‘(5) TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY DE12 FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection and with 

13 respect to an individual, the term ‘total and perma14 nent disability’ means the individual is totally and 

15 permanently disabled, as such term is defined in sec16 tion 685.102(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regula17 tions.’’. 

18 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Director of the Bureau of Con19 sumer Financial Protection may issue rules to implement 

20 the amendments made by subsection (a) as the Director de21 termines appropriate. 


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1 TITLE IV—CONSUMER PROTEC2 TION FOR MEDICAL DEBT 

3 COLLECTIONS ACT 

4 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

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

6 for Medical Debt Collections Act’’. 

7 SEC. 402. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION 

8 PRACTICES ACT. 

9 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collec10 tion Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(9) The term ‘medical debt’ means a debt aris13 ing from the receipt of medical services, products, or 

14 devices.’’. 

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

16 Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f), as amended by 

17 section 202(b), is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(10) Engaging in activities to collect or at20 tempting to collect a medical debt owed or due or as21 serted to be owed or due by a consumer, before the end 

22 of the 2-year period beginning on the date that the 

23 first payment with respect to such medical debt is 

24 due.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. PROHIBITION ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN2 CIES REPORTING CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT. 

3 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re4 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following: 

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

7 a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, products, 

8 or devices. 

9 ‘‘(cc) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE.—The term 

10 ‘medically necessary procedure’ means— 

11 ‘‘(1) health care services or supplies needed to di12 agnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, disease, 

13 or its symptoms and that meet accepted standards of 

14 medicine; and 

15 ‘‘(2) health care to prevent illness or detect ill16 ness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to 

17 work best (including preventive services such as pap 

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

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

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

21 at the end the following new paragraphs: 

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

23 from a medically necessary procedure. 

24 ‘‘(10) Any information related to a medical debt, 

25 if the date on which such debt was placed for collec26 tion, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any 


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1 similar action antedates the report by less than 365 

2 calendar days.’’. 

3 SEC. 404. REQUIREMENTS FOR FURNISHERS OF MEDICAL 

4 DEBT INFORMATION. 

5 (a) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED6 ICAL DEBT.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

7 (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED10 ICAL DEBT.—Before furnishing information regarding a 

11 medical debt of a consumer to a consumer reporting agency, 

12 the person furnishing the information shall send a state13 ment to the consumer that includes the following: 

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

15 ‘‘(A) may not be included on a consumer re16 port made by a consumer reporting agency until 

17 the later of the date that is 365 days after— 

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

19 the statement; 

20 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the medical debt of 

21 a borrower demonstrating hardship, a date 

22 determined by the Director of the Bureau; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(iii) the date described under section 

25 605(a)(10); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may not ever be included on a con2 sumer report made by a consumer reporting 

3 agency, if the medical debt arises from a medi4 cally necessary procedure. 

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

6 paid by the consumer or an insurance company be7 fore the end of the period described under paragraph 

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

9 reporting agency. 

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

11 ‘‘(A) communicate with an insurance com12 pany to determine coverage for the debt; or 

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

14 (b) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION.— 

15 Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 1681s-2), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) FURNISHING OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON REPORTING DEBT RE20 LATED TO MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURES.—No 

21 person shall furnish any information to a consumer 

22 reporting agency regarding a debt arising from a 

23 medically necessary procedure. 

24 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL DEBT IN25 FORMATION.—With respect to a medical debt not deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2547.RH H2547

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1 scribed under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish 

2 any information to a consumer reporting agency re3 garding such debt before the end of the 365-day period 

4 beginning on the later of— 

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

6 statement described under subsection (f) to the 

7 consumer; 

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

9 borrower demonstrating hardship, a date deter10 mined by the Director of the Bureau; or 

11 ‘‘(C) the date described in section 

12 605(a)(10). 

13 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF SETTLED OR PAID MEDICAL

14 DEBT.—With respect to a medical debt not described 

15 under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish any in16 formation to a consumer reporting agency regarding 

17 such debt if the debt is settled or paid by the con18 sumer or an insurance company before the end of the 

19 365-day period described under paragraph (2). 

20 ‘‘(4) BORROWER DEMONSTRATING HARDSHIP DE21 FINED.—In this subsection, and with respect to a 

22 medical debt, the term ‘borrower demonstrating hard23 ship’ means a borrower or a class of borrowers who, 

24 as determined by the Director of the Bureau, is facing 

25 or has experienced extenuating life circumstances or 


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1 events that result in severe financial or personal bar2 riers such that the borrower or class of borrowers does 

3 not have the capacity to repay the medical debt.’’. 

4 TITLE V—ENDING DEBT 

5 COLLECTION HARASSMENT ACT 

6 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Debt Collection 

8 Harassment Act of 2021’’. 

9 SEC. 502. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS RELATING TO DEBT 

10 COLLECTION PRACTICES. 

11 (a) REPORTS ON DEBT COLLECTION COMPLAINTS AND

12 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 

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

14 the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 

15 U.S.C. 5496(c)) is amended— 

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

17 the end; 

18 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the period 

19 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

21 ‘‘(10) an analysis of the consumer complaints re22 ceived by the Bureau with respect to debt collection, 

23 including a State-by-State breakdown of such com24 plaints; and 


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1 ‘‘(11) a list of enforcement actions taken against 

2 debt collectors during the preceding year.’’. 

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

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

5 1692m(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Each such report shall also in7 clude an analysis of the impact of electronic commu8 nications by debt collectors on consumer experiences 

9 with debt collection, including a consideration of con10 sumer complaints about the use of electronic commu11 nications in debt collection.’’. 

12 (b) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.—Sec13 tion 1022 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 

14 (12 U.S.C. 5512) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.—The 

17 Director may not issue any rule with respect to debt collec18 tion that allows a debt collector to send unlimited email 

19 and text messages to a consumer.’’. 

20 (c) PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS FROM UNLIMITED

21 TEXTS AND EMAILS USED IN DEBT COLLECTION.—Section 

22 806 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 

23 1692d) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(7) Contacting the consumer electronically (in2 cluding by email or text message) without consent of 

3 the consumer to communicate via that method, after 

4 such consent has been withdrawn, or more frequently 

5 than the consumer consents to be contacted.’’. 

6 (d) ENSURING CONSUMERS RECEIVE NOTICE OF DEBT

7 COLLECTION PROTECTIONS.—Section 809(a) of the Fair 

8 Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)) is 

9 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

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

11 follows through ‘‘any debt,’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing: ‘‘NOTICE OF DEBT; CONTENTS.—Within five 

13 days after the initial communication with a con14 sumer in connection with the collection of any debt,’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘, unless the following informa17 tion is contained in the initial communication or the 

18 consumer has paid the debt,’’. 

19 (e) IMPROVED LIMITATIONS ON DEBT COLLECTION

20 RULES.—Section 814(d) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac21 tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692l(d)) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: ‘‘Such rules— 

23 ‘‘(1) may not allow a debt collector to send un24 limited electronic communications to a consumer; 


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1 ‘‘(2) shall require debt collectors to obtain con2 sent directly from consumers before contacting them 

3 using a method other than by postal mail or by 

4 phone; 

5 ‘‘(3) may not waive the requirements of the Elec6 tronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq.); and 

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

9 method of communication that the debt collector uses 

10 to communicate with consumers, including a method 

11 for which such consumer had given prior consent.’’. 

12 TITLE VI—STOP DEBT 

13 COLLECTION ABUSE ACT 

14 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

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

16 Abuse Act of 2021’’. 

17 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

18 Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 

19 (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended— 

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

21 collection of such debt for another’’ and inserting ‘‘col22 lection of such debt’’; 

23 (2) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(5) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation or al2 leged obligation of a consumer— 

3 ‘‘(A) to pay money arising out of a trans4 action in which the money, property, insurance 

5 or services which are the subject of the trans6 action are primarily for personal, family, or 

7 household purposes, whether or not such obliga8 tion has been reduced to judgment; 

9 ‘‘(B) to pay a loan, overpayment, fine, pen10 alty, restitution, fee, or other money currently or 

11 originally owed to or guaranteed by a Federal or 

12 State government, including any courts or agen13 cies; or 

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

15 property that is used or was obtained primarily 

16 for personal, family, or household purposes, 

17 where such property is subject to forfeiture or re18 possession upon nonpayment of the obligation or 

19 alleged obligation.’’; and 

20 (3) in paragraph (6)— 

21 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (F) as clauses (i) through (vi), respec23 tively; 


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

2 inserting ‘‘(not including an independent con3 tractor)’’ after ‘‘any State’’; 

4 (C) by amending clause (vi), as so redesig5 nated, to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(vi) any person collecting or attempting to 

7 collect any debt owed or due or asserted to be 

8 owed or due another to the extent such activity— 

9 ‘‘(I) is incidental to a bona fide fidu10 ciary obligation or a bona fide escrow ar11 rangement; 

12 ‘‘(II) concerns a debt which was origi13 nated by such person; 

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

15 in default at the time it was obtained by 

16 such person; or 

17 ‘‘(IV) concerns a debt obtained by such 

18 person as a secured party in a commercial 

19 credit transaction involving the creditor.’’; 

20 (D) by striking the paragraph designation 

21 and the first and second sentences and inserting 

22 the following: 

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

24 ‘‘(i) any person who uses any instrumen25 tality of interstate commerce or the mails in any 


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1 business the principal purpose of which is the 

2 collection of any debts; 

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

4 attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, by the 

5 person’s own means or by hiring another debt 

6 collector, debts owed or due or asserted to be 

7 owed or due another or that have been obtained 

8 by assignment or transfer from another; 

9 ‘‘(iii) any person who regularly collects 

10 debts currently or originally owed or allegedly 

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

12 ‘‘(iv) notwithstanding subparagraph 

13 (B)(vi), any creditor who in the process of col14 lecting debts of such creditor, uses another name 

15 that would indicate that a third person is col16 lecting or attempting to collect such debts.’’; and 

17 (E) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

18 term does not include’’ and inserting the fol19 lowing: 

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

21 SEC. 603. DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR DEBT COL22 LECTORS HIRED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

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

24 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

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


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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 sell or transfer a debt described in section 803(5)(B) 

6 to a debt collector not earlier than 90 days after the date 

7 on which the obligation or alleged obligation becomes delin8 quent or defaults. 

9 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED NOTICE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before transferring or selling 

11 a debt described in section 803(5)(B) to a debt col12 lector or contracting with a debt collector to collect 

13 such a debt, a Federal agency shall notify the con14 sumer not fewer than 3 times that the Federal agency 

15 will take such action. 

16 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY OF NOTIFICATIONS.—The sec17 ond and third notifications described in paragraph 

18 (1) shall be made not less than 30 days after the date 

19 on which the previous notification is made.’’. 

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

21 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is amended by insert22 ing after the item relating to section 812 the following: 

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


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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 by 

9 the agreement creating the debt or permitted by 

10 law; and 

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

12 a debt collector collecting a debt described in sec13 tion 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 collector.’’. 

21 SEC. 605. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

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

23 States shall commence a study on the use of debt collectors 

24 by Federal, State, and local government agencies, includ25 ing— 


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

2 Federal, State, and local government agencies; 

3 (2) the contracting process that allows a Federal, 

4 State, or local 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) vary 

10 from State to State; 

11 (5) consumer protection at the State level that 

12 offer recourse to those whom debts have been wrong13 fully attributed; 

14 (6) the revenues received by debt collectors from 

15 Federal, State, and local government agencies; 

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

18 local 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 collect 

22 debts; 

23 (9) information regarding the amount collected 

24 by Federal, State, and local government agencies 

25 through debt collectors, including the total amount 


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1 and the percentage of the amount referred to the debt 

2 collectors; 

3 (10) the full cost of outsourcing collection to debt 

4 collectors; 

5 (11) government agency oversight of debt collec6 tors to ensure that the rights of a consumer (as de7 fined in section 803(3) of the Fair Debt Collection 

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

9 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, State, and local 

13 contracts 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 government 

20 actions, such as arrest warrants or suspension of li21 censes 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 enti25 ties. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one 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 com4 pleted study required under subsection (a). 

5 TITLE VII—DEBT COLLECTION 

6 PRACTICES HARMONIZATION 

7 ACT 

8 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Debt Collection Prac10 tices Harmonization Act’’. 

11 SEC. 702. AWARD OF DAMAGES. 

12 (a) ADDITIONAL DAMAGES INDEXED FOR INFLA13 TION.— 

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

15 Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k) is amend16 ed— 

17 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

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

19 or’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘with re20 spect to any one action taken by a debt col21 lector in violation of this subchapter; or’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik23 ing ‘‘or 1 per centum of the net worth of the 

24 debt collector; and’’ and inserting the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Apr 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2547.RH H2547

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1 lowing: ‘‘or 5 percent of the gross annual 

2 revenue of the debt collector; and’’; 

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

4 maximum amount of statutory damages at the 

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

6 each place it appears; and 

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

8 ‘‘(f) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

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

10 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

11 the Bureau shall provide a percentage increase 

12 (rounded to the nearest multiple of $100 or $1,000, as 

13 applicable) in the amounts set forth in this section 

14 equal to the percentage by which— 

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

16 Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 

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

18 June 30 preceding the date on which the percent19 age increase is provided, exceeds 

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

21 month period preceding January 1, 1978. 

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

23 any fiscal year beginning after the date of the in24 crease provided under paragraph (1), the Bureau 

25 shall provide a percentage increase (rounded to the 


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

2 the amounts set forth in this section equal to the per3 centage by which— 

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

5 Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 

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

7 June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal 

8 year for which the increase is made, exceeds 

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

10 month period preceding the 12-month period de11 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The increases made under 

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

14 Act, as added by paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection, 

15 shall apply with respect to failures to comply with a 

16 provision of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) occur17 ring on or after the date of enactment of this section. 

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

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

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

21 action alleging a violation of this title, the court may award 

22 appropriate relief, including injunctive relief.’’. 


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1 SEC. 703. PROHIBITION ON THE REFERRAL OF EMERGENCY 

2 INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE DEBT. 

3 Chapter 3 of title 31, United States Code, is amend4 ed— 

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘§ 334. Prohibition on the referral of emergency indi8 vidual assistance debt 

9 ‘‘With respect to any assistance provided by the Fed10 eral Emergency Management Agency to an individual or 

11 household pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

12 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et seq.), if 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury seeks to recoup any amount 

14 of such assistance because of an overpayment, the Secretary 

15 may not contract with any debt collector as defined in sec16 tion 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) or other private party to collect such 

18 amounts, unless the overpayment occurred because of fraud 

19 or deceit and the recipient of such assistance knew or should 

20 have known about such fraud or deceit.’’; and 

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

22 inserting after the item relating to section 333 the fol23 lowing: 

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


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1 TITLE VIII—NON-JUDICIAL 

2 FORECLOSURE DEBT COLLEC3 TION CLARIFICATION ACT 

4 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Non-Judicial Fore6 closure Debt Collection Clarification Act’’. 

7 SEC. 802. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 

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

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘For the 

10 purpose of section 808(6), such term also includes any per11 son who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce 

12 or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which 

13 is the enforcement of security interests.’’. 

14 TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATE 

15 SEC. 901. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

17 take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 10 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2547 

[Report No. 117–23] 

A BILL 

To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicepurposes. spect to debt collection practices, and for other member, and small business protections with reAPRIL 30, 2021 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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