II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1786 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to enhance the accuracy of credit 

reporting and provide greater rights to consumers who dispute errors 

in their credit reports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to enhance the 

accuracy of credit reporting and provide greater rights 

to consumers who dispute errors in their credit reports, 

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 ‘‘Stopping Errors in 

5 Consumer Use and REporting Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘SE6 CURE Act of 2017’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. LEGAL RECOURSE FOR CONSUMERS. 

2 (a) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Fair Credit Report3 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) in section 616 (15 U.S.C. 1681n)— 

5 (A) in subsection (a), in the subsection 

6 heading, by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘(a) DAMAGES.—’’; 

8 (B) by redesignating subsections (c) and 

9 (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

10 (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 

14 remedy under this section, a court may award in15 junctive relief to require compliance with the re16 quirements imposed under this title with respect to 

17 any consumer. 

18 ‘‘(2) COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In the 

19 event of any successful action for injunctive relief 

20 under this subsection, a court may award to the pre21 vailing party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees (as 

22 determined by the court) incurred by the prevailing 

23 party during the action.’’; and 

24 (2) in section 617 (15 U.S.C. 1681o)— 

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1 (A) in subsection (a), in the subsection 

2 heading, by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘(a) DAMAGES.—’’; 

4 (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub5 section (c); and 

6 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(b) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 

10 remedy under this section, a court may award in11 junctive relief to require compliance with the re12 quirements imposed under this title with respect to 

13 any consumer. 

14 ‘‘(2) COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In the 

15 event of any successful action for injunctive relief 

16 under this subsection, a court may award to the pre17 vailing party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees (as 

18 determined by the court) incurred by the prevailing 

19 party during the action.’’. 

20 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS21 SION.—Section 621(a)(2)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(a)(2)(A)) is amended— 

23 (1) in the subparagraph heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘(A) KNOWING VIOLATIONS.—’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

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1 NEGLIGENT, WILLFUL, OR KNOWING VIOLATIONS.— 

2 ’’; and 

3 (2) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘neg4 ligent, willful, or’’ before ‘‘knowing’’. 

5 SEC. 3. INCREASED REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSUMER RE6 PORTING AGENCIES AND FURNISHERS OF IN7 FORMATION. 

8 (a) PROVISION AND CONSIDERATION OF DOCU9 MENTATION PROVIDED BY CONSUMERS.—The Fair Credit 

10 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 611 (15 U.S.C. 1681i)— 

12 (A) in subsection (a)— 

13 (i) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (I) in subparagraph (A), in the 

15 second sentence, by inserting ‘‘, in16 cluding all documentation provided by 

17 the consumer’’ after ‘‘received from 

18 the consumer or reseller’’; and 

19 (II) in subparagraph (B), by in20 serting ‘‘, including all documentation 

21 provided by the consumer,’’ after 

22 ‘‘from the consumer or the reseller’’; 

23 and 

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1 (ii) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 including all documentation,’’ after ‘‘rel3 evant information’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (f)(2)(B)(ii), by inserting 

5 ‘‘, including all documentation,’’ after ‘‘relevant 

6 information’’; and 

7 (2) in section 623 (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2)— 

8 (A) in subsection (a)(8)(E), by striking 

9 clause (ii) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(ii) review and consider all relevant 

11 information, including all documentation, 

12 provided by the consumer with the no13 tice;’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking sub15 paragraph (B) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) review and consider all relevant infor17 mation, including all documentation, provided 

18 by the consumer reporting agency under section 

19 611(a)(2);’’. 

20 (b) GATHERING AND REPORTING OF INFORMATION

21 RELATING TO CONSUMER DISPUTES.—Section 611 of the 

22 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(g) GATHERING AND REPORTING OF INFORMATION

25 RELATING TO CONSUMER DISPUTES.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—The Bureau shall 

2 provide reports regarding the disputes described in 

3 subsection (a)(1) received by consumer reporting 

4 agencies in such intervals and to such parties as the 

5 Bureau deems appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(2) GATHERING OF INFORMATION.—The Bu7 reau shall prescribe rules for the gathering of infor8 mation relating to disputes described in subsection 

9 (a)(1) received by consumer reporting agencies to be 

10 used in generating the reports under paragraph (1), 

11 including rules establishing— 

12 ‘‘(A) the type and format of information 

13 that the Bureau shall receive from each con14 sumer reporting agency; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the frequency with which the Bureau 

16 shall receive the information from consumer re17 porting agencies.’’. 

18 (c) ACCURACY COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES.—Section 

19 607 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681e) 

20 is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(b) ACCURACY OF REPORT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

24 agency shall follow reasonable procedures when pre25 paring a consumer report to ensure the maximum 

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1 possible accuracy of the information concerning the 

2 individual to whom the consumer report relates. 

3 ‘‘(2) BUREAU RULE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM POS4 SIBLE ACCURACY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date of enactment of the Stop7 ping Errors in Consumer Use and Reporting 

8 Act of 2017, the Bureau shall issue a proposed 

9 rule establishing the procedures that a con10 sumer reporting agency shall follow to ensure 

11 maximum possible accuracy of all consumer re12 ports furnished by the agency in compliance 

13 with this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—When formu15 lating the rule required under subparagraph 

16 (A), the Bureau shall consider if requiring the 

17 matching of the following information would 

18 improve the accuracy of consumer reports: 

19 ‘‘(i) The first name and last name of 

20 a consumer. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The date of birth of a consumer. 

22 ‘‘(iii) All 9 digits of the social security 

23 number of a consumer. 

24 ‘‘(iv) Any other information that the 

25 Bureau determines would aid in ensuring 

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1 maximum possible accuracy of all con2 sumer reports furnished by consumer re3 porting agencies in compliance with this 

4 subsection.’’. 

5 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FURNISHERS OF INFOR6 MATION TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.—Section 

7 623(a)(8)(F)(i)(II) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(8)(F)(i)(II)) is amended by inserting 

9 ‘‘, and does not include any new or additional information 

10 that would be relevant to a reinvestigation’’ before the pe11 riod at the end. 

12 (e) DISCLOSURES TO CONSUMERS.—Section 609 of 

13 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B)— 

16 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; and 

18 (B) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) the address and telephone num21 ber of the person; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the permissible purpose of the 

23 person for obtaining the consumer report, 

24 including the specific type of credit product 

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1 that is extended, reviewed, or collected, as 

2 described in section 604(a)(3)(A).’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (f)— 

4 (A) by amending paragraph (7)(A) to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) supply the consumer with a credit 

7 score that— 

8 ‘‘(i) is derived from a credit scoring 

9 model that is widely distributed to users by 

10 the consumer reporting agency for the pur11 pose of any extension of credit or other 

12 transaction designated by the consumer 

13 who is requesting the credit score; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) is widely distributed to lenders of 

15 common consumer loan products and pre16 dicts the future credit behavior of the con17 sumer; and’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘, ex19 cept that a credit score shall be provided free 

20 of charge to the consumer if requested in con21 nection with a free annual consumer report de22 scribed in section 612(a)’’ before the period at 

23 the end; and 

24 (3) in subsection (g)(1)— 

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1 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘subparagraph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara3 graph (C)’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

5 ‘‘consistent with subparagraph (C)’’; 

6 (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

7 (D) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

8 through (G) as subparagraphs (C) through (F), 

9 respectively. 

10 (f) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) ADVERSE INFORMATION NOTIFICATION.— 

12 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 

13 seq.) is amended— 

14 (A) in section 612 (15 U.S.C. 1681j), by 

15 striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(b) FREE DISCLOSURE AFTER NOTICE OF AD18 VERSE ACTION OR OFFER OF CREDIT ON MATERIALLY

19 LESS FAVORABLE TERMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days 

21 after the date on which a consumer reporting agency 

22 receives a notification under subsection (a)(2) or 

23 (h)(6) of section 615, or from a debt collection agen24 cy affiliated with the consumer reporting agency, the 

25 consumer reporting agency shall make, without 

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1 charge to the consumer, all disclosures required in 

2 accordance with the rules prescribed by the Bureau 

3 under section 609(h). 

4 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION PERIOD.—During the period 

5 beginning on the effective date of the Stopping Er6 rors in Consumer Use and Reporting Act of 2017 

7 and ending on the date on which the Bureau final8 izes the rule required under section 609(h), a con9 sumer reporting agency that is required to make dis10 closures under this subsection shall provide to the 

11 consumer a copy of the current credit report on the 

12 consumer and any other disclosures required under 

13 this Act or the Stopping Errors in Consumer Use 

14 and Reporting Act of 2017, without charge to the 

15 consumer.’’; and 

16 (B) in section 615(a) (15 U.S.C. 

17 1681m(a))— 

18 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2), 

19 (3), and (4) as paragraphs (3), (4), and 

20 (5), respectively; 

21 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) direct the consumer reporting agency that 

24 provided the consumer report that was used in the 

25 decision to take the adverse action to provide the 

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1 consumer with the disclosures described in section 

2 612(b);’’; and 

3 (iii) in paragraph (5), as so redesig4 nated— 

5 (I) in the matter preceding sub6 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘of the 

7 consumer’s right’’; 

8 (II) by striking subparagraph (A) 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) that the consumer shall receive a 

11 copy of the consumer report with respect to the 

12 consumer, free of charge, from the consumer 

13 reporting agency that furnished the consumer 

14 report; and’’; and 

15 (III) in subparagraph (B), by in16 serting ‘‘of the right of the consumer’’ 

17 before ‘‘to dispute’’. 

18 (2) NOTIFICATION IN CASES OF LESS FAVOR19 ABLE TERMS.—Section 615(h) of the Fair Credit 

20 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(h)) is amended— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘para22 graph (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (7)’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘para24 graph (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (7)’’; 

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1 (C) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking ‘‘may 

2 obtain’’ and inserting ‘‘shall receive’’; 

3 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), 

4 and (8) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respec5 tively; and 

6 (E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(6) REPORTS PROVIDED TO CONSUMERS.—A 

9 person who uses a consumer report as described in 

10 paragraph (1) shall notify and direct the consumer 

11 reporting agency that provided the consumer report 

12 to provide the consumer with the disclosures de13 scribed in section 612(b).’’. 

14 (3) NOTIFICATION OF SUBSEQUENT SUBMIS15 SIONS OF NEGATIVE INFORMATION.—Section 

16 623(a)(7)(A)(ii) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

17 (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(7)(A)(ii)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘account, or customer’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

19 account’’. 

20 (4) BUREAU RULE DEFINING CERTAIN DISCLO21 SURE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 609 of the Fair 

22 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(h) BUREAU RULE DEFINING CERTAIN DISCLO25 SURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of the Stopping Errors 

3 in Consumer Use and Reporting Act of 2017, the 

4 Bureau shall publish a proposed rule to implement 

5 the disclosure requirements described in section 

6 612(b). 

7 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In formulating the 

8 rule required under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall 

9 consider— 

10 ‘‘(A) what information would enable con11 sumers to— 

12 ‘‘(i) determine the reasons for which a 

13 person— 

14 ‘‘(I) took adverse action; or 

15 ‘‘(II) offered credit on materially 

16 less favorable terms; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) verify the accuracy of that infor18 mation; and 

19 ‘‘(B) how to provide the information de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) while protecting 

21 consumer privacy, including procedures to en22 sure that the information is provided to the 

23 consumer at the appropriate address.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. REGULATORY REFORM. 

2 Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1681s) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(h) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REGISTRY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRY.—Not later 

7 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

8 Stopping Errors in Consumer Use and Reporting 

9 Act of 2017, the Bureau shall establish 3 publicly 

10 available registries of consumer reporting agencies, 

11 including a registry that contains— 

12 ‘‘(A) each consumer reporting agency that 

13 compiles and maintains files on consumers on a 

14 nationwide basis; 

15 ‘‘(B) each nationwide specialty consumer 

16 reporting agency; and 

17 ‘‘(C) all other consumer reporting agencies 

18 that are not included under section 603(p) or 

19 603(x). 

20 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.—Each con21 sumer reporting agency shall register with a registry 

22 established by the Bureau under this subsection in 

23 a timeframe established by the Bureau.’’. 

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1 SEC. 5. IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION FOR MINORS. 

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

3 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

4 section 605B (15 U.S.C. 1681c–2) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 605C. ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR CREDIT RE6 PORTS OF MINOR CONSUMERS. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘blocked file’ means a file of a 

9 minor consumer with respect to which, under this 

10 section, a consumer reporting agency— 

11 ‘‘(A) maintains with the name, social secu12 rity number, date of birth, and, if applicable, 

13 any credit information of the minor consumer; 

14 ‘‘(B) may not provide any person with a 

15 consumer report of the minor consumer; and 

16 ‘‘(C) blocks the input of any information, 

17 except with permission from a covered guardian 

18 of the minor consumer; 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered guardian’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the legal guardian of a minor child; 

21 ‘‘(B) the custodian of a minor child; or 

22 ‘‘(C) in the case of a child in foster care, 

23 the State agency or Indian tribe or tribal orga24 nization responsible for the foster care of the 

25 child; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘minor consumer’ means a con2 sumer who has not attained 16 years of age. 

3 ‘‘(b) BLOCKING A FILE.—A consumer reporting 

4 agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on 

5 a nationwide basis shall, upon request by, and receipt of 

6 appropriate proof of identity of, a minor consumer or the 

7 covered guardian of a minor consumer— 

8 ‘‘(1) create a blocked file for the minor con9 sumer; or 

10 ‘‘(2) convert a file of the minor consumer al11 ready in existence to a blocked file. 

12 ‘‘(c) UNBLOCKING A FILE.—A consumer reporting 

13 agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on 

14 a nationwide basis shall unblock a blocked file— 

15 ‘‘(1) upon request by the covered guardian of a 

16 minor consumer; 

17 ‘‘(2) if the file was blocked as a result of a ma18 terial misrepresentation, including a representation 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the consumer was a minor consumer 

21 when the consumer was not a minor consumer 

22 as of the date on which the representation was 

23 made; and 

24 ‘‘(B) an individual was the covered guard25 ian of a minor consumer when the individual 

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1 was not the covered guardian of the minor con2 sumer as of the date on which the representa3 tion was made; 

4 ‘‘(3) on the date of the 16th birthday of the 

5 minor consumer; or 

6 ‘‘(4) if the minor consumer becomes emanci7 pated under the law of the State in which the minor 

8 consumer resides, on the date of the emancipation of 

9 the minor consumer. 

10 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Bureau shall promulgate 

11 regulations to carry out this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) FEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A credit reporting agency 

14 may charge a fair and reasonable fee, as determined 

15 by the Bureau, to create a blocked file or to unblock 

16 a file. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—The Bureau may exempt an 

18 individual who suspects that the individual has been 

19 a victim of fraud or identity theft from a fee de20 scribed in paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section may be 

22 construed as requiring a consumer reporting agency that 

23 compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nation24 wide basis to prevent a Federal, State, or local law en25 forcement agency from accessing a blocked file.’’. 

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

2 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relat4 ing to section 605B the following: 

‘‘605C. Additional protections for credit reports of minor consumers.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. STUDY OF A PUBLIC CREDIT REPORTING SYSTEM. 

6 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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

8 United States shall conduct a study— 

9 (1) of credit systems in the international credit 

10 system with government-administered consumer 

11 credit reporting systems; 

12 (2) of available information regarding the accu13 racy of government-administered consumer credit re14 porting systems that are in existence as of the date 

15 on which the Comptroller General begins conducting 

16 the study; 

17 (3) to evaluate the feasibility of a national, gov18 ernment-administered consumer credit reporting sys19 tem; 

20 (4) of any consumer benefits that might reason21 ably be expected to result from a government-admin22 istered consumer credit reporting system; and 

23 (5) of any costs that might result from a gov24 ernment-administered consumer credit reporting sys25 tem in the United States. 

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1 (b) PUBLICATION OF FINDINGS.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp3 troller General of the United States shall publish the find4 ings of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 Except as otherwise provided in this Act and the 

7 amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amend8 ments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 

9 is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 

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