I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1286 

To prohibit consumer credit reporting agencies and lenders from taking adverse action against federal employees and contractors impacted by the 

government shutdown, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KILMER, and 

Mr. ROUDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To prohibit consumer credit reporting agencies and lenders 

from taking adverse action against federal employees and 

contractors impacted by the government shutdown, 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 ‘‘Federal Employee 

5 Credit Score Protection Act of 2019’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1286 IH

1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON LOWERING THE CREDIT SCORES 

2 OF COVERED INDIVIDUALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new sections: 

6 ‘‘§ 630. Prohibitions relating to credit scores during a 

7 shutdown 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a cov9 ered entity may not lower the credit score of a covered 

10 individual who fails to pay any qualified expense or obliga11 tion during the period beginning on the first day of a shut12 down and ending on the date that is 60 days after the 

13 date on which the shutdown ends, if the covered individual 

14 pays the qualified expense or obligation within such pe15 riod. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION.—A covered entity shall, 

18 to the extent practicable, identify covered individuals 

19 eligible under subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FROM THE OFFICE OF PER21 SONNEL MANAGEMENT.—The Director of the Office 

22 of Personnel Management shall, to the extent prac23 ticable, assist covered entities in identifying covered 

24 individuals. 

25 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION BY INDIVIDUALS.—Not 

26 later than 1 year after the date that is 60 days after 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1286 IH

1 the date on which a shutdown ends, a covered indi2 vidual may notify a covered entity that the covered 

3 entity may not lower the credit score of the covered 

4 individual pursuant to subsection (a), and if such 

5 credit score has been lowered, such covered indi6 vidual may seek a reversal of that action. 

7 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION BY ENTITIES.—A covered entity 

8 shall notify the public— 

9 ‘‘(1) of the requirement described under sub10 section (a); and 

11 ‘‘(2) how a covered individual may— 

12 ‘‘(A) inform the entity of the eligibility of 

13 the individual under subsection (a); and 

14 ‘‘(B) submit such reasonable materials 

15 deemed necessary to confirm such eligibility. 

16 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN17 CIES.—A consumer reporting agency that receives a cred18 ible notification that a covered individual is eligible under 

19 subsection (a) shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) notify covered entities of the eligibility of 

21 such covered individual; 

22 ‘‘(2) to the extent practicable, inform other con23 sumer reporting agencies of the eligibility of such 

24 covered individual; and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1286 IH

1 ‘‘(3) in the event the credit score of a covered 

2 individual was lowered prior to receipt of such cred3 ible notification, take all necessary measures to re4 verse that action and restore the credit score of the 

5 covered individual such that it reflects the credit 

6 score such covered individual would have received 

7 absent the consideration of the nonpayment of a 

8 qualified expense or obligation. 

9 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—Upon petition by a covered in10 dividual, the Bureau may— 

11 ‘‘(1) require a covered entity to make appro12 priate adjustments to the credit score of the covered 

13 individual; and 

14 ‘‘(2) issue a fine or take another enforcement 

15 action, as determined by the Bureau. 

16 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en18 tity’ means an entity that develops a credit score. 

19 ‘‘(2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov20 ered individual’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) an employee of the Federal Govern22 ment who is furloughed or excepted from fur23 lough during the shutdown; 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1286 IH

1 ‘‘(B) a Federal contractor who, during any 

2 lapse in Federal appropriations, is not receiving 

3 pay by reason of such lapse; and 

4 ‘‘(C) a spouse of an individual described 

5 under subparagraph (A) or (B). 

6 ‘‘(3) CREDIT SCORE.—The term ‘credit score’ 

7 has the meaning given in section 609(f)(2). 

8 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED EXPENSE OR OBLIGATION.— 

9 The term ‘qualified expense or obligation’ means any 

10 payment, including a partial payment, of a covered 

11 individual relating to a mortgage loan, rent, credit 

12 cards, medical expenses, automobile purchases or 

13 leases, student loans, insurance premiums, utilities, 

14 and other recurring payments or expenses ordinarily 

15 incurred by such covered individual (as determined 

16 by the Bureau). 

17 ‘‘(5) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘shutdown’ means 

18 the period of a lapse in appropriations beginning on 

19 or after December 22, 2018, and that ends before 

20 October 1, 2019. 

21 ‘‘§ 631. Prohibition on adverse lending determina22 tions for covered individuals 

23 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A creditor (as defined in section 

24 103 of the Truth in Lending Act) may not knowingly deny 

25 credit, or knowingly provide credit on less favorable terms 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1286 IH

1 than would otherwise be provided, to a covered individual 

2 who fails to pay any qualified expense or obligation during 

3 the period beginning on the first day of a shutdown and 

4 ending on the date that is 60 days after the date on which 

5 the shutdown ends, if the covered individual pays the 

6 qualified expense or obligation within such period. 

7 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Bureau may issue a fine 

8 or take another enforcement action, as determined by the 

9 Bureau, against a creditor that violates subsection (a) if 

10 the Bureau determines by a preponderance of the evidence 

11 that the fact that the covered individual failed to pay a 

12 qualified expense while not receiving pay by reason of a 

13 lapse in Federal appropriations, or during the 60-day pe14 riod immediately following such lapse in Federal appro15 priations, was a substantial factor in the action taken by 

16 the creditor that violated subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘covered individual’, 

18 ‘qualified expense or obligation’, and ‘shutdown’ have the 

19 meanings given those terms, respectively, in section 631.’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

21 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new items: 

‘‘630. Prohibitions relating to credit scores during a shutdown. 

‘‘631. Prohibition on adverse lending determinations for covered individuals.’’. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS