115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2155 

AN ACT 

To promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory relief, and enhance consumer protections, 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, 
2 

†S 2155 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer 

4 Protection Act’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING CONSUMER ACCESS TO MORTGAGE CREDIT 

Sec. 101. Minimum standards for residential mortgage loans. 

Sec. 102. Safeguarding access to habitat for humanity homes. 

Sec. 103. Exemption from appraisals of real property located in rural areas. 

Sec. 104. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act adjustment and study. 

Sec. 105. Credit union residential loans. 

Sec. 106. Eliminating barriers to jobs for loan originators. 

Sec. 107. Protecting access to manufactured homes. 

Sec. 108. Escrow requirements relating to certain consumer credit transactions. 

Sec. 109. No wait for lower mortgage rates. 

TITLE II—REGULATORY RELIEF AND PROTECTING CONSUMER 

ACCESS TO CREDIT 

Sec. 201. Capital simplification for qualifying community banks. 

Sec. 202. Limited exception for reciprocal deposits. 

Sec. 203. Community bank relief. 

Sec. 204. Removing naming restrictions. 

Sec. 205. Short form call reports. 

Sec. 206. Option for Federal savings associations to operate as covered savings 

associations. 

Sec. 207. Small bank holding company policy statement. 

Sec. 208. Application of the Expedited Funds Availability Act. 

Sec. 209. Small public housing agencies. 

Sec. 210. Examination cycle. 

Sec. 211. International insurance capital standards accountability. 

Sec. 212. Budget transparency for the NCUA. 

Sec. 213. Making online banking initiation legal and easy. 

Sec. 214. Promoting construction and development on Main Street. 

Sec. 215. Reducing identity fraud. 

Sec. 216. Treasury report on risks of cyber threats. 

Sec. 217. Discretionary surplus funds. 

TITLE III—PROTECTIONS FOR VETERANS, CONSUMERS, AND 

HOMEOWNERS 

Sec. 301. Protecting consumers’ credit. 

Sec. 302. Protecting veterans’ credit. 

Sec. 303. Immunity from suit for disclosure of financial exploitation of senior 

citizens. 
3 

†S 2155 ES

Sec. 304. Restoration of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. 

Sec. 305. Remediating lead and asbestos hazards. 

Sec. 306. Family self-sufficiency program. 

Sec. 307. Property Assessed Clean Energy financing. 

Sec. 308. GAO report on consumer reporting agencies. 

Sec. 309. Protecting veterans from predatory lending. 

Sec. 310. Credit score competition. 

Sec. 311. GAO report on Puerto Rico foreclosures. 

Sec. 312. Report on children’s lead-based paint hazard prevention and abatement. 

Sec. 313. Foreclosure relief and extension for servicemembers. 

TITLE IV—TAILORING REGULATIONS FOR CERTAIN BANK 

HOLDING COMPANIES 

Sec. 401. Enhanced supervision and prudential standards for certain bank 

holding companies. 

Sec. 402. Supplementary leverage ratio for custodial banks. 

Sec. 403. Treatment of certain municipal obligations. 

TITLE V—ENCOURAGING CAPITAL FORMATION 

Sec. 501. National securities exchange regulatory parity. 

Sec. 502. SEC study on algorithmic trading. 

Sec. 503. Annual review of government-business forum on capital formation. 

Sec. 504. Supporting America’s innovators. 

Sec. 505. Securities and Exchange Commission overpayment credit. 

Sec. 506. U.S. territories investor protection. 

Sec. 507. Encouraging employee ownership. 

Sec. 508. Improving access to capital. 

Sec. 509. Parity for closed-end companies regarding offering and proxy rules. 

TITLE VI—PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENT BORROWERS 

Sec. 601. Protections in the event of death or bankruptcy. 

Sec. 602. Rehabilitation of private education loans. 

Sec. 603. Best practices for higher education financial literacy. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL BANKING AGENCY; 

4 COMPANY; DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION; DEPOSITORY

5 INSTITUTION HOLDING COMPANY.—The terms ‘‘ap6 propriate Federal banking agency’’, ‘‘company’’, 

7 ‘‘depository institution’’, and ‘‘depository institution 

8 holding company’’ have the meanings given those 
4 

†S 2155 ES

1 terms in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

2 Act (12 U.S.C. 1813). 

3 (2) BANK HOLDING COMPANY.—The term 

4 ‘‘bank holding company’’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act 

6 of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841). 

7 TITLE I—IMPROVING CON8 SUMER ACCESS TO MORT9 GAGE CREDIT 

10 SEC. 101. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR RESIDENTIAL MORT11 GAGE LOANS. 

12 Section 129C(b)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 1639c(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(F) SAFE HARBOR.— 

16 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara17 graph— 

18 ‘‘(I) the term ‘covered institution’ 

19 means an insured depository institu20 tion or an insured credit union that, 

21 together with its affiliates, has less 

22 than $10,000,000,000 in total consoli23 dated assets; 

24 ‘‘(II) the term ‘insured credit 

25 union’ has the meaning given the 
5 

†S 2155 ES

1 term in section 101 of the Federal 

2 Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752); 

3 ‘‘(III) the term ‘insured deposi4 tory institution’ has the meaning 

5 given the term in section 3 of the 

6 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

7 U.S.C. 1813); 

8 ‘‘(IV) the term ‘interest-only’ 

9 means that, under the terms of the 

10 legal obligation, one or more of the 

11 periodic payments may be applied 

12 solely to accrued interest and not to 

13 loan principal; and 

14 ‘‘(V) the term ‘negative amortiza15 tion’ means payment of periodic pay16 ments that will result in an increase 

17 in the principal balance under the 

18 terms of the legal obligation. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SAFE HARBOR.—In this sec20 tion— 

21 ‘‘(I) the term ‘qualified mort22 gage’ includes any residential mort23 gage loan— 
6 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(aa) that is originated and 

2 retained in portfolio by a covered 

3 institution; 

4 ‘‘(bb) that is in compliance 

5 with the limitations with respect 

6 to prepayment penalties de7 scribed in subsections (c)(1) and 

8 (c)(3); 

9 ‘‘(cc) that is in compliance 

10 with the requirements of clause 

11 (vii) of subparagraph (A); 

12 ‘‘(dd) that does not have 

13 negative amortization or interest14 only features; and 

15 ‘‘(ee) for which the covered 

16 institution considers and docu17 ments the debt, income, and fi18 nancial resources of the con19 sumer in accordance with clause 

20 (iv); and 

21 ‘‘(II) a residential mortgage loan 

22 described in subclause (I) shall be 

23 deemed to meet the requirements of 

24 subsection (a). 
7 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN

2 TRANSFERS.—A residential mortgage loan 

3 described in clause (ii)(I) shall not qualify 

4 for the safe harbor under clause (ii) if the 

5 legal title to the residential mortgage loan 

6 is sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred 

7 to another person unless the residential 

8 mortgage loan is sold, assigned, or other9 wise transferred— 

10 ‘‘(I) to another person by reason 

11 of the bankruptcy or failure of a cov12 ered institution; 

13 ‘‘(II) to a covered institution so 

14 long as the loan is retained in port15 folio by the covered institution to 

16 which the loan is sold, assigned, or 

17 otherwise transferred; 

18 ‘‘(III) pursuant to a merger of a 

19 covered institution with another per20 son or the acquisition of a covered in21 stitution by another person or of an22 other person by a covered institution, 

23 so long as the loan is retained in port24 folio by the person to whom the loan 
8 

†S 2155 ES

1 is sold, assigned, or otherwise trans2 ferred; or 

3 ‘‘(IV) to a wholly owned sub4 sidiary of a covered institution, pro5 vided that, after the sale, assignment, 

6 or transfer, the residential mortgage 

7 loan is considered to be an asset of 

8 the covered institution for regulatory 

9 accounting purposes. 

10 ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION AND DOCU11 MENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—The consid12 eration and documentation requirements 

13 described in clause (ii)(I)(ee) shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) not be construed to require 

15 compliance with, or documentation in 

16 accordance with, appendix Q to part 

17 1026 of title 12, Code of Federal Reg18 ulations, or any successor regulation; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) be construed to permit mul21 tiple methods of documentation.’’. 

22 SEC. 102. SAFEGUARDING ACCESS TO HABITAT FOR HU23 MANITY HOMES. 

24 Section 129E(i)(2) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 1639e(i)(2)) is amended— 
9 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

2 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and adjust3 ing the margins accordingly; 

4 (2) in the matter preceding clause (i), as so re5 designated, by striking ‘‘For purposes of’’ and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED

10 TO APPRAISAL DONATIONS.—If a fee appraiser 

11 voluntarily donates appraisal services to an or12 ganization eligible to receive tax-deductible 

13 charitable contributions, such voluntary dona14 tion shall be considered customary and reason15 able for the purposes of paragraph (1).’’. 

16 SEC. 103. EXEMPTION FROM APPRAISALS OF REAL PROP17 ERTY LOCATED IN RURAL AREAS. 

18 Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recov19 ery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3331 et 

20 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1127. EXEMPTION FROM APPRAISALS OF REAL ES22 TATE LOCATED IN RURAL AREAS. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
10 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘mortgage originator’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 103 of the Truth 

3 in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602); and 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘transaction value’ means the 

5 amount of a loan or extension of credit, including a 

6 loan or extension of credit that is part of a pool of 

7 loans or extensions of credit. 

8 ‘‘(b) APPRAISAL NOT REQUIRED.—Except as pro9 vided in subsection (d), notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, an appraisal in connection with a federally 

11 related transaction involving real property or an interest 

12 in real property is not required if— 

13 ‘‘(1) the real property or interest in real prop14 erty is located in a rural area, as described in sec15 tion 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A) of title 12, Code of Fed16 eral Regulations; 

17 ‘‘(2) not later than 3 days after the date on 

18 which the Closing Disclosure Form, made in accord19 ance with the final rule of the Bureau of Consumer 

20 Financial Protection entitled ‘Integrated Mortgage 

21 Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Pro22 cedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lend23 ing Act (Regulation Z)’ (78 Fed. Reg. 79730 (De24 cember 31, 2013)), relating to the federally related 
11 

†S 2155 ES

1 transaction is given to the consumer, the mortgage 

2 originator or its agent, directly or indirectly— 

3 ‘‘(A) has contacted not fewer than 3 State 

4 certified appraisers or State licensed appraisers, 

5 as applicable, on the mortgage originator’s ap6 proved appraiser list in the market area in ac7 cordance with part 226 of title 12, Code of 

8 Federal Regulations; and 

9 ‘‘(B) has documented that no State cer10 tified appraiser or State licensed appraiser, as 

11 applicable, was available within 5 business days 

12 beyond customary and reasonable fee and time13 liness standards for comparable appraisal as14 signments, as documented by the mortgage 

15 originator or its agent; 

16 ‘‘(3) the transaction value is less than 

17 $400,000; and 

18 ‘‘(4) the mortgage originator is subject to over19 sight by a Federal financial institutions regulatory 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(c) SALE, ASSIGNMENT, OR TRANSFER.—A mort22 gage originator that makes a loan without an appraisal 

23 under the terms of subsection (b) shall not sell, assign, 

24 or otherwise transfer legal title to the loan unless— 
12 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) the loan is sold, assigned, or otherwise 

2 transferred to another person by reason of the bank3 ruptcy or failure of the mortgage originator; 

4 ‘‘(2) the loan is sold, assigned, or otherwise 

5 transferred to another person regulated by a Federal 

6 financial institutions regulatory agency, so long as 

7 the loan is retained in portfolio by the person; 

8 ‘‘(3) the sale, assignment, or transfer is pursu9 ant to a merger of the mortgage originator with an10 other person or the acquisition of the mortgage 

11 originator by another person or of another person by 

12 the mortgage originator; or 

13 ‘‘(4) the sale, loan, or transfer is to a wholly 

14 owned subsidiary of the mortgage originator, pro15 vided that, after the sale, assignment, or transfer, 

16 the loan is considered to be an asset of the mortgage 

17 originator for regulatory accounting purposes. 

18 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) shall not apply 

19 if— 

20 ‘‘(1) a Federal financial institutions regulatory 

21 agency requires an appraisal under section 

22 225.63(c), 323.3(c), 34.43(c), or 722.3(e) of title 

23 12, Code of Federal Regulations; or 
13 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(2) the loan is a high-cost mortgage, as de2 fined in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1602). 

4 ‘‘(e) ANTI-EVASION.—Each Federal financial institu5 tions regulatory agency shall ensure that any mortgage 

6 originator that the Federal financial institutions regu7 latory agency oversees that makes a significant amount 

8 of loans under subsection (b) is complying with the re9 quirements of subsection (b)(2) with respect to each 

10 loan.’’. 

11 SEC. 104. HOME MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE ACT ADJUST12 MENT AND STUDY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Home Mort14 gage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 U.S.C. 2803) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as paragraph 

17 (3) and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

18 (2) by inserting before paragraph (3), as so re19 designated, the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) EXEMPTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) CLOSED-END MORTGAGE LOANS.—With 

22 respect to an insured depository institution or in23 sured credit union, the requirements of paragraphs 

24 (5) and (6) of subsection (b) shall not apply with re25 spect to closed-end mortgage loans if the insured de-
14 

†S 2155 ES

1 pository institution or insured credit union origi2 nated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans in 

3 each of the 2 preceding calendar years. 

4 ‘‘(2) OPEN-END LINES OF CREDIT.—With re5 spect to an insured depository institution or insured 

6 credit union, the requirements of paragraphs (5) and 

7 (6) of subsection (b) shall not apply with respect to 

8 open-end lines of credit if the insured depository in9 stitution or insured credit union originated fewer 

10 than 500 open-end lines of credit in each of the 2 

11 preceding calendar years. 

12 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED COMPLIANCE.—Notwith13 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), an insured deposi14 tory institution shall comply with paragraphs (5) 

15 and (6) of subsection (b) if the insured depository 

16 institution has received a rating of ‘needs to improve 

17 record of meeting community credit needs’ during 

18 each of its 2 most recent examinations or a rating 

19 of ‘substantial noncompliance in meeting community 

20 credit needs’ on its most recent examination under 

21 section 807(b)(2) of the Community Reinvestment 

22 Act of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2906(b)(2)).’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
15 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘insured credit union’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Fed3 eral Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752); and 

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘insured depository institution’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 

6 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813).’’. 

7 (b) LOOKBACK STUDY.— 

8 (1) STUDY.—Not earlier than 2 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen10 eral of the United States shall conduct a study to 

11 evaluate the impact of the amendments made by 

12 subsection (a) on the amount of data available under 

13 the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (12 

14 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) at the national and local level. 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen17 eral of the United States shall submit to the Com18 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services 

20 of the House of Representatives a report that in21 cludes the findings and conclusions of the Comp22 troller General with respect to the study required 

23 under paragraph (1). 

24 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 304(i)(3) of 

25 the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, as so redesig-
16 

†S 2155 ES

1 nated by subsection (a)(1), is amended by striking ‘‘sec2 tion 303(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 303(3)(A)’’. 

3 SEC. 105. CREDIT UNION RESIDENTIAL LOANS. 

4 (a) REMOVAL FROM MEMBER BUSINESS LOAN LIMI5 TATION.—Section 107A(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Federal Credit 

6 Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1757a(c)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘that is the primary residence of a member’’. 

8 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec9 tion or the amendment made by this section shall preclude 

10 the National Credit Union Administration from treating 

11 an extension of credit that is fully secured by a lien on 

12 a 1- to 4-family dwelling that is not the primary residence 

13 of a member as a member business loan for purposes other 

14 than the member business loan limitation requirements 

15 under section 107A of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

16 U.S.C. 1757a). 

17 SEC. 106. ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO JOBS FOR LOAN 

18 ORIGINATORS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing 

20 Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1518. EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION OF LOAN ORIGINA23 TORS. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
17 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION STATE.—The term ‘applica2 tion State’ means a State in which a registered loan 

3 originator or a State-licensed loan originator seeks 

4 to be licensed. 

5 ‘‘(2) STATE-LICENSED MORTGAGE COMPANY.— 

6 The term ‘State-licensed mortgage company’ means 

7 an entity that is licensed or registered under the law 

8 of any State to engage in residential mortgage loan 

9 origination and processing activities. 

10 ‘‘(b) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO ORIGINATE LOANS

11 FOR LOAN ORIGINATORS MOVING FROM A DEPOSITORY

12 INSTITUTION TO A NON-DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon becoming employed 

14 by a State-licensed mortgage company, an individual 

15 who is a registered loan originator shall be deemed 

16 to have temporary authority to act as a loan origi17 nator in an application State for the period de18 scribed in paragraph (2) if the individual— 

19 ‘‘(A) has not had— 

20 ‘‘(i) an application for a loan origi21 nator license denied; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) a loan originator license revoked 

23 or suspended in any governmental jurisdic24 tion; 
18 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) has not been subject to, or served 

2 with, a cease and desist order— 

3 ‘‘(i) in any governmental jurisdiction; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(ii) under section 1514(c); 

6 ‘‘(C) has not been convicted of a mis7 demeanor or felony that would preclude licen8 sure under the law of the application State; 

9 ‘‘(D) has submitted an application to be a 

10 State-licensed loan originator in the application 

11 State; and 

12 ‘‘(E) was registered in the Nationwide 

13 Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as a 

14 loan originator during the 1-year period pre15 ceding the date on which the information re16 quired under section 1505(a) is submitted. 

17 ‘‘(2) PERIOD.—The period described in this 

18 paragraph shall begin on the date on which an indi19 vidual described in paragraph (1) submits the infor20 mation required under section 1505(a) and shall end 

21 on the earliest of the date— 

22 ‘‘(A) on which the individual withdraws the 

23 application to be a State-licensed loan origi24 nator in the application State; 
19 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) on which the application State denies, 

2 or issues a notice of intent to deny, the applica3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(C) on which the application State grants 

5 a State license; or 

6 ‘‘(D) that is 120 days after the date on 

7 which the individual submits the application, if 

8 the application is listed on the Nationwide 

9 Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as in10 complete. 

11 ‘‘(c) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO ORIGINATE LOANS

12 FOR STATE-LICENSED LOAN ORIGINATORS MOVING

13 INTERSTATE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State-licensed loan origi15 nator shall be deemed to have temporary authority 

16 to act as a loan originator in an application State 

17 for the period described in paragraph (2) if the 

18 State-licensed loan originator— 

19 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of subpara20 graphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of subsection 

21 (b)(1); 

22 ‘‘(B) is employed by a State-licensed mort23 gage company in the application State; and 

24 ‘‘(C) was licensed in a State that is not the 

25 application State during the 30-day period pre-
20 

†S 2155 ES

1 ceding the date on which the information re2 quired under section 1505(a) was submitted in 

3 connection with the application submitted to the 

4 application State. 

5 ‘‘(2) PERIOD.—The period described in this 

6 paragraph shall begin on the date on which the 

7 State-licensed loan originator submits the informa8 tion required under section 1505(a) in connection 

9 with the application submitted to the application 

10 State and end on the earliest of the date— 

11 ‘‘(A) on which the State-licensed loan 

12 originator withdraws the application to be a 

13 State-licensed loan originator in the application 

14 State; 

15 ‘‘(B) on which the application State denies, 

16 or issues a notice of intent to deny, the applica17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(C) on which the application State grants 

19 a State license; or 

20 ‘‘(D) that is 120 days after the date on 

21 which the State-licensed loan originator submits 

22 the application, if the application is listed on 

23 the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and 

24 Registry as incomplete. 

25 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY.— 
21 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYER OF LOAN ORIGINATORS.—Any 

2 person employing an individual who is deemed to 

3 have temporary authority to act as a loan originator 

4 in an application State under this section shall be 

5 subject to the requirements of this title and to appli6 cable State law to the same extent as if that indi7 vidual was a State-licensed loan originator licensed 

8 by the application State. 

9 ‘‘(2) ENGAGING IN MORTGAGE LOAN ACTIVI10 TIES.—Any individual who is deemed to have tem11 porary authority to act as a loan originator in an ap12 plication State under this section and who engages 

13 in residential mortgage loan origination activities 

14 shall be subject to the requirements of this title and 

15 to applicable State law to the same extent as if that 

16 individual was a State-licensed loan originator li17 censed by the application State.’’. 

18 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 1(b) of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 

20 (42 U.S.C. 4501 note) is amended by inserting after the 

21 item relating to section 1517 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1518. Employment transition of loan originators.’’. 

22 (c) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 1513 of the S.A.F.E. 

23 Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5112) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘persons who are loan originators or 
22 

†S 2155 ES

1 are applying for licensing or registration as loan origina2 tors.’’ and inserting ‘‘persons who— 

3 ‘‘(1) have applied, are applying, or are licensed 

4 or registered through the Nationwide Mortgage Li5 censing System and Registry; and 

6 ‘‘(2) work in an industry with respect to which 

7 persons were licensed or registered through the Na8 tionwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry 

9 on the date of enactment of the Economic Growth, 

10 Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.’’. 

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend12 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 

13 that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 107. PROTECTING ACCESS TO MANUFACTURED 

15 HOMES. 

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

17 1602) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (cc) 

19 (relating to definitions relating to mortgage origina20 tion and residential mortgage loans) and subsection 

21 (dd) as subsections (dd) and (ee), respectively; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2) of subsection (dd), as so 

23 redesignated, by striking subparagraph (C) and in24 serting the following: 

25 ‘‘(C) does not include any person who is— 
23 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(i) not otherwise described in sub2 paragraph (A) or (B) and who performs 

3 purely administrative or clerical tasks on 

4 behalf of a person who is described in any 

5 such subparagraph; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a retailer of manufactured or 

7 modular homes or an employee of the re8 tailer if the retailer or employee, as appli9 cable— 

10 ‘‘(I) does not receive compensa11 tion or gain for engaging in activities 

12 described in subparagraph (A) that is 

13 in excess of any compensation or gain 

14 received in a comparable cash trans15 action; 

16 ‘‘(II) discloses to the consumer— 

17 ‘‘(aa) in writing any cor18 porate affiliation with any cred19 itor; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) if the retailer has a 

21 corporate affiliation with any 

22 creditor, at least 1 unaffiliated 

23 creditor; and 

24 ‘‘(III) does not directly negotiate 

25 with the consumer or lender on loan 
24 

†S 2155 ES

1 terms (including rates, fees, and other 

2 costs).’’. 

3 SEC. 108. ESCROW REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN 

4 CONSUMER CREDIT TRANSACTIONS. 

5 Section 129D of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 1639d) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

9 through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 

10 respectively, and adjusting the margins accord11 ingly; 

12 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

13 (A), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘The 

14 Board’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau’’; 

16 (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, 

17 by striking ‘‘the Board’’ each place that term 

18 appears and inserting ‘‘the Bureau’’; and 

19 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF LOANS HELD BY SMALLER

21 INSTITUTIONS.—The Bureau shall, by regulation, 

22 exempt from the requirements of subsection (a) any 

23 loan made by an insured depository institution or an 

24 insured credit union secured by a first lien on the 

25 principal dwelling of a consumer if— 
25 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(A) the insured depository institution or 

2 insured credit union has assets of 

3 $10,000,000,000 or less; 

4 ‘‘(B) during the preceding calendar year, 

5 the insured depository institution or insured 

6 credit union and its affiliates originated 1,000 

7 or fewer loans secured by a first lien on a prin8 cipal dwelling; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the transaction satisfies the criteria 

10 in sections 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(A), 

11 1026.35(b)(2)(iii)(D), and 1026.35(b)(2)(v) of 

12 title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

13 successor regulation.’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (i), by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(3) INSURED CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘in17 sured credit union’ has the meaning given the term 

18 in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

19 U.S.C. 1752). 

20 ‘‘(4) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The 

21 term ‘insured depository institution’ has the mean22 ing given the term in section 3 of the Federal De23 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813).’’. 
26 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 109. NO WAIT FOR LOWER MORTGAGE RATES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 129(b) of the Truth in 

3 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1639(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para5 graph (4); and 

6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(3) NO WAIT FOR LOWER RATE.—If a creditor 

9 extends to a consumer a second offer of credit with 

10 a lower annual percentage rate, the transaction may 

11 be consummated without regard to the period speci12 fied in paragraph (1) with respect to the second 

13 offer.’’. 

14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that, whereas the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

16 Protection issued a final rule entitled ‘‘Integrated Mort17 gage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Proce18 dures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act 

19 (Regulation Z)’’ (78 Fed. Reg. 79730 (December 31, 

20 2013)) (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘TRID 

21 Rule’’) to combine the disclosures a consumer receives in 

22 connection with applying for and closing on a mortgage 

23 loan, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection should 

24 endeavor to provide clearer, authoritative guidance on— 

25 (1) the applicability of the TRID Rule to mort26 gage assumption transactions; 
27 

†S 2155 ES

1 (2) the applicability of the TRID Rule to con2 struction-to-permanent home loans, and the condi3 tions under which those loans can be properly origi4 nated; and 

5 (3) the extent to which lenders can rely on 

6 model disclosures published by the Bureau of Con7 sumer Financial Protection without liability if recent 

8 changes to regulations are not reflected in the sam9 ple TRID Rule forms published by the Bureau of 

10 Consumer Financial Protection. 

11 TITLE II—REGULATORY RELIEF 

12 AND PROTECTING CONSUMER 

13 ACCESS TO CREDIT 

14 SEC. 201. CAPITAL SIMPLIFICATION FOR QUALIFYING COM15 MUNITY BANKS. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) COMMUNITY BANK LEVERAGE RATIO.—The 

18 term ‘‘Community Bank Leverage Ratio’’ means the 

19 ratio of the tangible equity capital of a qualifying 

20 community bank, as reported on the qualifying com21 munity bank’s applicable regulatory filing with the 

22 qualifying community bank’s appropriate Federal 

23 banking agency, to the average total consolidated as24 sets of the qualifying community bank, as reported 

25 on the qualifying community bank’s applicable regu-
28 

†S 2155 ES

1 latory filing with the qualifying community bank’s 

2 appropriate Federal banking agency. 

3 (2) GENERALLY APPLICABLE LEVERAGE CAP4 ITAL REQUIREMENTS; GENERALLY APPLICABLE

5 RISK-BASED CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS.—The terms 

6 ‘‘generally applicable leverage capital requirements’’ 

7 and ‘‘generally applicable risk-based capital require8 ments’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec9 tion 171(a) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 

10 (12 U.S.C. 5371(a)). 

11 (3) QUALIFYING COMMUNITY BANK.— 

12 (A) ASSET THRESHOLD.—The term 

13 ‘‘qualifying community bank’’ means a deposi14 tory institution or depository institution holding 

15 company with total consolidated assets of less 

16 than $10,000,000,000. 

17 (B) RISK PROFILE.—The appropriate Fed18 eral banking agencies may determine that a de19 pository institution or depository institution 

20 holding company (or a class of depository insti21 tutions or depository institution holding compa22 nies) described in subparagraph (A) is not a 

23 qualifying community bank based on the deposi24 tory institution’s or depository institution hold-
29 

†S 2155 ES

1 ing company’s risk profile, which shall be based 

2 on consideration of— 

3 (i) off-balance sheet exposures; 

4 (ii) trading assets and liabilities; 

5 (iii) total notional derivatives expo6 sures; and 

7 (iv) such other factors as the appro8 priate Federal banking agencies determine 

9 appropriate. 

10 (b) COMMUNITY BANK LEVERAGE RATIO.—The ap11 propriate Federal banking agencies shall, through notice 

12 and comment rule making under section 553 of title 5, 

13 United States Code— 

14 (1) develop a Community Bank Leverage Ratio 

15 of not less than 8 percent and not more than 10 

16 percent for qualifying community banks; and 

17 (2) establish procedures for treatment of a 

18 qualifying community bank that has a Community 

19 Bank Leverage Ratio that falls below the percentage 

20 developed under paragraph (1) after exceeding the 

21 percentage developed under paragraph (1). 

22 (c) CAPITAL COMPLIANCE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any qualifying community 

24 bank that exceeds the Community Bank Leverage 
30 

†S 2155 ES

1 Ratio developed under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

2 considered to have met— 

3 (A) the generally applicable leverage cap4 ital requirements and the generally applicable 

5 risk-based capital requirements; 

6 (B) in the case of a qualifying community 

7 bank that is a depository institution, the capital 

8 ratio requirements that are required in order to 

9 be considered well capitalized under section 38 

10 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

11 U.S.C. 1831o) and any regulation implementing 

12 that section; and 

13 (C) any other capital or leverage require14 ments to which the qualifying community bank 

15 is subject. 

16 (2) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in para17 graph (1) shall limit the authority of the appropriate 

18 Federal banking agencies as in effect on the date of 

19 enactment of this Act. 

20 (d) CONSULTATION.—The appropriate Federal bank21 ing agencies shall— 

22 (1) consult with the applicable State bank su23 pervisors in carrying out this section; and 

24 (2) notify the applicable State bank supervisor 

25 of any qualifying community bank that it supervises 
31 

†S 2155 ES

1 that exceeds, or does not exceed after previously ex2 ceeding, the Community Bank Leverage ratio devel3 oped under subsection (b)(1). 

4 SEC. 202. LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR RECIPROCAL DEPOS5 ITS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29 of the Federal Deposit 

7 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831f) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR RECIPROCAL DEPOS10 ITS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Reciprocal deposits of an 

12 agent institution shall not be considered to be funds 

13 obtained, directly or indirectly, by or through a de14 posit broker to the extent that the total amount of 

15 such reciprocal deposits does not exceed the lesser 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(A) $5,000,000,000; or 

18 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to 20 percent of the 

19 total liabilities of the agent institution. 

20 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) AGENT INSTITUTION.—The term 

22 ‘agent institution’ means an insured depository 

23 institution that places a covered deposit 

24 through a deposit placement network at other 

25 insured depository institutions in amounts that 
32 

†S 2155 ES

1 are less than or equal to the standard max2 imum deposit insurance amount, specifying the 

3 interest rate to be paid for such amounts, if the 

4 insured depository institution— 

5 ‘‘(i)(I) when most recently examined 

6 under section 10(d) was found to have a 

7 composite condition of outstanding or 

8 good; and 

9 ‘‘(II) is well capitalized; 

10 ‘‘(ii) has obtained a waiver pursuant 

11 to subsection (c); or 

12 ‘‘(iii) does not receive an amount of 

13 reciprocal deposits that causes the total 

14 amount of reciprocal deposits held by the 

15 agent institution to be greater than the av16 erage of the total amount of reciprocal de17 posits held by the agent institution on the 

18 last day of each of the 4 calendar quarters 

19 preceding the calendar quarter in which 

20 the agent institution was found not to have 

21 a composite condition of outstanding or 

22 good or was determined to be not well cap23 italized. 

24 ‘‘(B) COVERED DEPOSIT.—The term ‘cov25 ered deposit’ means a deposit that— 
33 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(i) is submitted for placement 

2 through a deposit placement network by an 

3 agent institution; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) does not consist of funds that 

5 were obtained for the agent institution, di6 rectly or indirectly, by or through a deposit 

7 broker before submission for placement 

8 through a deposit placement network. 

9 ‘‘(C) DEPOSIT PLACEMENT NETWORK.— 

10 The term ‘deposit placement network’ means a 

11 network in which an insured depository institu12 tion participates, together with other insured 

13 depository institutions, for the processing and 

14 receipt of reciprocal deposits. 

15 ‘‘(D) NETWORK MEMBER BANK.—The 

16 term ‘network member bank’ means an insured 

17 depository institution that is a member of a de18 posit placement network. 

19 ‘‘(E) RECIPROCAL DEPOSITS.—The term 

20 ‘reciprocal deposits’ means deposits received by 

21 an agent institution through a deposit place22 ment network with the same maturity (if any) 

23 and in the same aggregate amount as covered 

24 deposits placed by the agent institution in other 

25 network member banks. 
34 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(F) WELL CAPITALIZED.—The term ‘well 

2 capitalized’ has the meaning given the term in 

3 section 38(b)(1).’’. 

4 (b) INTEREST RATE RESTRICTION.—Section 29 of 

5 the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831f) is 

6 amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTION ON INTEREST RATE PAID.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘agent institution’, ‘recip11 rocal deposits’, and ‘well capitalized’ have the 

12 meanings given those terms in subsection (i); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered insured depository 

15 institution’ means an insured depository institu16 tion that— 

17 ‘‘(i) under subsection (c) or (d), ac18 cepts funds obtained, directly or indirectly, 

19 by or through a deposit broker; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) while acting as an agent institu21 tion under subsection (i), accepts recip22 rocal deposits while not well capitalized. 

23 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—A covered insured deposi24 tory institution may not pay a rate of interest on 

25 funds or reciprocal deposits described in paragraph 
35 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) that, at the time that the funds or reciprocal de2 posits are accepted, significantly exceeds the limit 

3 set forth in paragraph (3). 

4 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON INTEREST RATES.—The limit on 

5 the rate of interest referred to in paragraph (2) shall 

6 be— 

7 ‘‘(A) the rate paid on deposits of similar 

8 maturity in the normal market area of the cov9 ered insured depository institution for deposits 

10 accepted in the normal market area of the cov11 ered insured depository institution; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the national rate paid on deposits of 

13 comparable maturity, as established by the Cor14 poration, for deposits accepted outside the nor15 mal market area of the covered insured deposi16 tory institution.’’. 

17 SEC. 203. COMMUNITY BANK RELIEF. 

18 Section 13(h)(1) of the Bank Holding Company Act 

19 of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1851(h)(1)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (D), by redesignating 

21 clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), respec22 tively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

23 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through 

24 (D) as clauses (i) through (iv), respectively, and ad25 justing the margins accordingly; 
36 

†S 2155 ES

1 (3) in the matter preceding clause (i), as so re2 designated, in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘in3 stitution that functions solely in a trust or fiduciary 

4 capacity, if—’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘institu5 tion— 

6 ‘‘(A) that functions solely in a trust or fi7 duciary capacity, if—’’; 

8 (4) in clause (iv)(II), as so redesignated, by 

9 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

10 and 

11 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) that does not have and is not con13 trolled by a company that has— 

14 ‘‘(i) more than $10,000,000,000 in 

15 total consolidated assets; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) total trading assets and trading 

17 liabilities, as reported on the most recent 

18 applicable regulatory filing filed by the in19 stitution, that are more than 5 percent of 

20 total consolidated assets.’’. 

21 SEC. 204. REMOVING NAMING RESTRICTIONS. 

22 Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 

23 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1851) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (d)(1)(G)(vi), by inserting be25 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘, except that the 
37 

†S 2155 ES

1 hedge fund or private equity fund may share the 

2 same name or a variation of the same name as a 

3 banking entity that is an investment adviser to the 

4 hedge fund or private equity fund, if— 

5 ‘‘(I) such investment adviser is 

6 not an insured depository institution, 

7 a company that controls an insured 

8 depository institution, or a company 

9 that is treated as a bank holding com10 pany for purposes of section 8 of the 

11 International Banking Act of 1978 

12 (12 U.S.C. 3106); 

13 ‘‘(II) such investment adviser 

14 does not share the same name or a 

15 variation of the same name as an in16 sured depository institution, any com17 pany that controls an insured deposi18 tory institution, or any company that 

19 is treated as a bank holding company 

20 for purposes of section 8 of the Inter21 national Banking Act of 1978 (12 

22 U.S.C. 3106); and 

23 ‘‘(III) such name does not con24 tain the word ‘bank’ ’’; and 
38 

†S 2155 ES

1 (2) in subsection (h)(5)(C), by inserting before 

2 the period the following: ‘‘, except as permitted 

3 under subsection (d)(1)(G)(vi)’’. 

4 SEC. 205. SHORT FORM CALL REPORTS. 

5 Section 7(a) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 

6 (12 U.S.C. 1817(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(12) SHORT FORM REPORTING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate Fed10 eral banking agencies shall issue regulations 

11 that allow for a reduced reporting requirement 

12 for a covered depository institution when the in13 stitution makes the first and third report of 

14 condition for a year, as required under para15 graph (3). 

16 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

17 term ‘covered depository institution’ means an 

18 insured depository institution that— 

19 ‘‘(i) has less than $5,000,000,000 in 

20 total consolidated assets; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) satisfies such other criteria as 

22 the appropriate Federal banking agencies 

23 determine appropriate.’’. 
39 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 206. OPTION FOR FEDERAL SAVINGS ASSOCIATIONS 

2 TO OPERATE AS COVERED SAVINGS ASSOCIA3 TIONS. 

4 The Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1461 et 

5 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 5 (12 U.S.C. 

6 1464) the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 5A. ELECTION TO OPERATE AS A COVERED SAVINGS 

8 ASSOCIATION. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘covered 

10 savings association’ means a Federal savings association 

11 that makes an election that is approved under subsection 

12 (b). 

13 ‘‘(b) ELECTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the 

15 rules issued under subsection (f), a Federal savings 

16 association with total consolidated assets equal to or 

17 less than $20,000,000,000, as reported by the asso18 ciation to the Comptroller as of December 31, 2017, 

19 may elect to operate as a covered savings association 

20 by submitting a notice to the Comptroller of that 

21 election. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—A Federal savings association 

23 shall be deemed to be approved to operate as a cov24 ered savings association beginning on the date that 

25 is 60 days after the date on which the Comptroller 

26 receives the notice submitted under paragraph (1), 
40 

†S 2155 ES

1 unless the Comptroller notifies the Federal savings 

2 association that the Federal savings association is 

3 not eligible. 

4 ‘‘(c) RIGHTS AND DUTIES.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, and except as otherwise provided 

6 in this section, a covered savings association shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) have the same rights and privileges as a 

8 national bank that has the main office of the na9 tional bank situated in the same location as the 

10 home office of the covered savings association; and 

11 ‘‘(2) be subject to the same duties, restrictions, 

12 penalties, liabilities, conditions, and limitations that 

13 would apply to a national bank described in para14 graph (1). 

15 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF COVERED SAVINGS ASSOCIA16 TIONS.—A covered savings association shall be treated as 

17 a Federal savings association for the purposes— 

18 ‘‘(1) of governance of the covered savings asso19 ciation, including incorporation, bylaws, boards of 

20 directors, shareholders, and distribution of divi21 dends; 

22 ‘‘(2) of consolidation, merger, dissolution, con23 version (including conversion to a stock bank or to 

24 another charter), conservatorship, and receivership; 

25 and 
41 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(3) determined by regulation of the Comp2 troller. 

3 ‘‘(e) EXISTING BRANCHES.—A covered savings asso4 ciation may continue to operate any branch or agency that 

5 the covered savings association operated on the date on 

6 which an election under subsection (b) is approved. 

7 ‘‘(f) RULE MAKING.—The Comptroller shall issue 

8 rules to carry out this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) that establish streamlined standards and 

10 procedures that clearly identify required documenta11 tion and timelines for an election under subsection 

12 (b); 

13 ‘‘(2) that require a Federal savings association 

14 that makes an election under subsection (b) to iden15 tify specific assets and subsidiaries that— 

16 ‘‘(A) do not conform to the requirements 

17 for assets and subsidiaries of a national bank; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) are held by the Federal savings asso20 ciation on the date on which the Federal sav21 ings association submits a notice of the election; 

22 ‘‘(3) that establish— 

23 ‘‘(A) a transition process for bringing the 

24 assets and subsidiaries described in paragraph 
42 

†S 2155 ES

1 (2) into conformance with the requirements for 

2 a national bank; and 

3 ‘‘(B) procedures for allowing the Federal 

4 savings association to submit to the Comptroller 

5 an application to continue to hold assets and 

6 subsidiaries described in paragraph (2) after 

7 electing to operate as a covered savings associa8 tion; 

9 ‘‘(4) that establish standards and procedures to 

10 allow a covered savings association to— 

11 ‘‘(A) terminate an election under sub12 section (b) after an appropriate period of time; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) make a subsequent election under 

15 subsection (b) after terminating an election 

16 under subparagraph (A); 

17 ‘‘(5) that clarify requirements for the treatment 

18 of covered savings associations, including the provi19 sions of law that apply to covered savings associa20 tions; and 

21 ‘‘(6) as the Comptroller determines necessary in 

22 the interests of safety and soundness. 

23 ‘‘(g) GRANDFATHERED COVERED SAVINGS ASSOCIA24 TIONS.—Subject to the rules issued under subsection (f), 

25 a covered savings association may continue to operate as 
43 

†S 2155 ES

1 a covered savings association if, after the date on which 

2 the election is made under subsection (b), the covered sav3 ings association has total consolidated assets greater than 

4 $20,000,000,000.’’. 

5 SEC. 207. SMALL BANK HOLDING COMPANY POLICY STATE6 MENT. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

9 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 

10 (2) SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANY.— 

11 The term ‘‘savings and loan holding company’’ has 

12 the meaning given the term in section 10(a) of the 

13 Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)). 

14 (b) CHANGES REQUIRED TO SMALL BANK HOLDING

15 COMPANY POLICY STATEMENT ON ASSESSMENT OF FI16 NANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL FACTORS.—Not later than 

17 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 Board shall revise appendix C to part 225 of title 12, Code 

19 of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the ‘‘Small 

20 Bank Holding Company and Savings and Loan Holding 

21 Company Policy Statement’’), to raise the consolidated 

22 asset threshold under that appendix from $1,000,000,000 

23 to $3,000,000,000 for any bank holding company or sav24 ings and loan holding company that— 
44 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) is not engaged in significant nonbanking ac2 tivities either directly or through a nonbank sub3 sidiary; 

4 (2) does not conduct significant off-balance 

5 sheet activities (including securitization and asset 

6 management or administration) either directly or 

7 through a nonbank subsidiary; and 

8 (3) does not have a material amount of debt or 

9 equity securities outstanding (other than trust pre10 ferred securities) that are registered with the Securi11 ties and Exchange Commission. 

12 (c) EXCLUSIONS.—The Board may exclude any bank 

13 holding company or savings and loan holding company, re14 gardless of asset size, from the revision under subsection 

15 (b) if the Board determines that such action is warranted 

16 for supervisory purposes. 

17 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 171(b)(5) 

18 of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 

19 5371(b)(5)) is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and 

20 inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) any bank holding company or savings 

22 and loan holding company that is subject to the 

23 application of appendix C to part 225 of title 

24 12, Code of Federal Regulations (commonly 

25 known as the ‘Small Bank Holding Company 
45 

†S 2155 ES

1 and Savings and Loan Holding Company Policy 

2 Statement’).’’. 

3 SEC. 208. APPLICATION OF THE EXPEDITED FUNDS AVAIL4 ABILITY ACT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Expedited Funds Availability 

6 Act (12 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) in section 602 (12 U.S.C. 4001)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (20), by inserting ‘‘, lo9 cated in the United States,’’ after ‘‘ATM’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (21), by inserting 

11 ‘‘American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands, Guam,’’ after 

13 ‘‘Puerto Rico,’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (23), by inserting ‘‘Amer15 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North16 ern Mariana Islands, Guam,’’ after ‘‘Puerto 

17 Rico,’’; and 

18 (2) in section 603(d)(2)(A) (12 U.S.C. 

19 4002(d)(2)(A)), by inserting ‘‘American Samoa, the 

20 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

21 Guam,’’ after ‘‘Puerto Rico,’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 
46 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 209. SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES. 

2 (a) SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES.—Title I of 

3 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 

4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 38. SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM.—The term 

8 ‘housing voucher program’ means a program for ten9 ant-based assistance under section 8. 

10 ‘‘(2) SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The 

11 term ‘small public housing agency’ means a public 

12 housing agency— 

13 ‘‘(A) for which the sum of the number of 

14 public housing dwelling units administered by 

15 the agency and the number of vouchers under 

16 section 8(o) administered by the agency is 550 

17 or fewer; and 

18 ‘‘(B) that predominantly operates in a 

19 rural area, as described in section 

20 1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A) of title 12, Code of Fed21 eral Regulations. 

22 ‘‘(3) TROUBLED SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN23 CY.—The term ‘troubled small public housing agen24 cy’ means a small public housing agency designated 

25 by the Secretary as a troubled small public housing 

26 agency under subsection (c)(3). 
47 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Except as otherwise provided 

2 in this section, a small public housing agency shall be sub3 ject to the same requirements as a public housing agency. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM INSPECTIONS AND EVALUATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY OF INSPECTIONS BY

7 SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall carry out an 

8 inspection of the physical condition of a small 

9 public housing agency’s public housing projects 

10 not more frequently than once every 3 years, 

11 unless the agency has been designated by the 

12 Secretary as a troubled small public housing 

13 agency based on deficiencies in the physical 

14 condition of its public housing projects. Nothing 

15 contained in this subparagraph relieves the Sec16 retary from conducting lead safety inspections 

17 or assessments in accordance with procedures 

18 established by the Secretary under section 302 

19 of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 4822). 

21 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall 

22 apply to small public housing agencies the same 

23 standards for the acceptable condition of public 

24 housing projects that apply to projects assisted 

25 under section 8. 
48 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(2) HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Except as 

2 required by section 8(o)(8)(F), a small public hous3 ing agency administering assistance under section 

4 8(o) shall make periodic physical inspections of each 

5 assisted dwelling unit not less frequently than once 

6 every 3 years to determine whether the unit is main7 tained in accordance with the requirements under 

8 section 8(o)(8)(A). Nothing contained in this para9 graph relieves a small public housing agency from 

10 conducting lead safety inspections or assessments in 

11 accordance with procedures established by the Sec12 retary under section 302 of the Lead-Based Paint 

13 Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4822). 

14 ‘‘(3) TROUBLED SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN15 CIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAM.—Not17 withstanding any other provision of law, the 

18 Secretary may designate a small public housing 

19 agency as a troubled small public housing agen20 cy with respect to the public housing program 

21 of the small public housing agency if the Sec22 retary determines that the agency has failed to 

23 maintain the public housing units of the small 

24 public housing agency in a satisfactory physical 
49 

†S 2155 ES

1 condition, based upon an inspection conducted 

2 by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, the 

5 Secretary may designate a small public housing 

6 agency as a troubled small public housing agen7 cy with respect to the housing voucher program 

8 of the small public housing agency if the Sec9 retary determines that the agency has failed to 

10 comply with the inspection requirements under 

11 paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(C) APPEALS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

14 shall establish an appeals process under 

15 which a small public housing agency may 

16 dispute a designation as a troubled small 

17 public housing agency. 

18 ‘‘(ii) OFFICIAL.—The appeals process 

19 established under clause (i) shall provide 

20 for a decision by an official who has not 

21 been involved, and is not subordinate to a 

22 person who has been involved, in the origi23 nal determination to designate a small 

24 public housing agency as a troubled small 

25 public housing agency. 
50 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(D) CORRECTIVE ACTION AGREEMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(i) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—Not 

3 later than 60 days after the date on which 

4 a small public housing agency is des5 ignated as a troubled public housing agen6 cy under subparagraph (A) or (B), the 

7 Secretary and the small public housing 

8 agency shall enter into a corrective action 

9 agreement under which the small public 

10 housing agency shall undertake actions to 

11 correct the deficiencies upon which the des12 ignation is based. 

13 ‘‘(ii) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—A cor14 rective action agreement entered into 

15 under clause (i) shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) have a term of 1 year, and 

17 shall be renewable at the option of the 

18 Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(II) provide, where feasible, for 

20 technical assistance to assist the pub21 lic housing agency in curing its defi22 ciencies; 

23 ‘‘(III) provide for— 

24 ‘‘(aa) reconsideration of the 

25 designation of the small public 
51 

†S 2155 ES

1 housing agency as a troubled 

2 small public housing agency not 

3 less frequently than annually; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(bb) termination of the 

6 agreement when the Secretary 

7 determines that the small public 

8 housing agency is no longer a 

9 troubled small public housing 

10 agency; and 

11 ‘‘(IV) provide that in the event of 

12 substantial noncompliance by the 

13 small public housing agency under the 

14 agreement, the Secretary may— 

15 ‘‘(aa) contract with another 

16 public housing agency or a pri17 vate entity to manage the public 

18 housing of the troubled small 

19 public housing agency; 

20 ‘‘(bb) withhold funds other21 wise distributable to the troubled 

22 small public housing agency; 

23 ‘‘(cc) assume possession of, 

24 and direct responsibility for, 

25 managing the public housing of 
52 

†S 2155 ES

1 the troubled small public housing 

2 agency; 

3 ‘‘(dd) petition for the ap4 pointment of a receiver, in ac5 cordance with section 

6 6(j)(3)(A)(ii); and 

7 ‘‘(ee) exercise any other 

8 remedy available to the Secretary 

9 in the event of default under the 

10 public housing annual contribu11 tions contract entered into by the 

12 small public housing agency 

13 under section 5. 

14 ‘‘(E) EMERGENCY ACTIONS.—Nothing in 

15 this paragraph may be construed to prohibit the 

16 Secretary from taking any emergency action 

17 necessary to protect Federal financial resources 

18 or the health or safety of residents of public 

19 housing projects. 

20 ‘‘(d) REDUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, a small public housing agency shall 

23 be exempt from any environmental review require24 ments with respect to a development or moderniza-
53 

†S 2155 ES

1 tion project having a total cost of not more than 

2 $100,000. 

3 ‘‘(2) STREAMLINED PROCEDURES.—The Sec4 retary shall, by rule, establish streamlined proce5 dures for environmental reviews of small public 

6 housing agency development and modernization 

7 projects having a total cost of more than 

8 $100,000.’’. 

9 (b) ENERGY CONSERVATION.—Section 9(e)(2) of the 

10 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1437g(e)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(D) FREEZE OF CONSUMPTION LEV14 ELS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A small public 

16 housing agency, as defined in section 

17 38(a), may elect to be paid for its utility 

18 and waste management costs under the 

19 formula for a period, at the discretion of 

20 the small public housing agency, of not 

21 more than 20 years based on the small 

22 public housing agency’s average annual 

23 consumption during the 3-year period pre24 ceding the year in which the election is 
54 

†S 2155 ES

1 made (in this subparagraph referred to as 

2 the ‘consumption base level’). 

3 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL ADJUSTMENT IN CON4 SUMPTION BASE LEVEL.—The Secretary 

5 shall make an initial one-time adjustment 

6 in the consumption base level to account 

7 for differences in the heating degree day 

8 average over the most recent 20-year pe9 riod compared to the average in the con10 sumption base level. 

11 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENTS IN CONSUMPTION

12 BASE LEVEL.—The Secretary shall make 

13 adjustments in the consumption base level 

14 to account for an increase or reduction in 

15 units, a change in fuel source, a change in 

16 resident controlled electricity consumption, 

17 or for other reasons. 

18 ‘‘(iv) SAVINGS.—All cost savings re19 sulting from an election made by a small 

20 public housing agency under this subpara21 graph— 

22 ‘‘(I) shall accrue to the small 

23 public housing agency; and 
55 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(II) may be used for any public 

2 housing purpose at the discretion of 

3 the small public housing agency. 

4 ‘‘(v) THIRD PARTIES.—A small public 

5 housing agency making an election under 

6 this subparagraph— 

7 ‘‘(I) may use, but shall not be re8 quired to use, the services of a third 

9 party in its energy conservation pro10 gram; and 

11 ‘‘(II) shall have the sole discre12 tion to determine the source, and 

13 terms and conditions, of any financing 

14 used for its energy conservation pro15 gram.’’. 

16 (c) REPORTING BY AGENCIES OPERATING IN CON17 SORTIA.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

19 Development shall develop and deploy all electronic infor20 mation systems necessary to accommodate full consoli21 dated reporting by public housing agencies, as defined in 

22 section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

23 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)), electing to operate in consortia 

24 under section 13(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1437k(a)). 
56 

†S 2155 ES

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date that 

3 is 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (e) SHARED WAITING LISTS.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

6 Housing and Urban Development shall make available to 

7 interested public housing agencies and owners of multi8 family properties receiving assistance from the Depart9 ment of Housing and Urban Development 1 or more soft10 ware programs that will facilitate the voluntary use of a 

11 shared waiting list by multiple public housing agencies or 

12 owners receiving assistance, and shall publish on the 

13 website of the Department of Housing and Urban Devel14 opment procedural guidance for implementing shared 

15 waiting lists that includes information on how to obtain 

16 the software. 

17 SEC. 210. EXAMINATION CYCLE. 

18 Section 10(d) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 

19 (12 U.S.C. 1820(d)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking 

21 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$3,000,000,000’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking 

24 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$3,000,000,000’’. 
57 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 211. INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE CAPITAL STAND2 ARDS ACCOUNTABILITY. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

4 (1) the Secretary of the Treasury, Board of 

5 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Di6 rector of the Federal Insurance Office shall support 

7 increasing transparency at any global insurance or 

8 international standard-setting regulatory or super9 visory forum in which they participate, including 

10 supporting and advocating for greater public ob11 server access to working groups and committee 

12 meetings of the International Association of Insur13 ance Supervisors; and 

14 (2) to the extent that the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal 

16 Reserve System, and the Director of the Federal In17 surance Office take a position or reasonably intend 

18 to take a position with respect to an insurance pro19 posal by a global insurance regulatory or supervisory 

20 forum, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Board of 

21 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the 

22 Director of the Federal Insurance Office shall 

23 achieve consensus positions with State insurance 

24 regulators through the National Association of In25 surance Commissioners, when they are United 

26 States participants in negotiations on insurance 
58 

†S 2155 ES

1 issues before the International Association of Insur2 ance Supervisors, Financial Stability Board, or any 

3 other international forum of financial regulators or 

4 supervisors that considers such issues. 

5 (b) INSURANCE POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

7 Insurance Policy Advisory Committee on Inter8 national Capital Standards and Other Insurance 

9 Issues at the Board of Governors of the Federal Re10 serve System. 

11 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 

12 composed of not more than 21 members, all of 

13 whom represent a diverse set of expert perspectives 

14 from the various sectors of the United States insur15 ance industry, including life insurance, property and 

16 casualty insurance and reinsurance, agents and bro17 kers, academics, consumer advocates, or experts on 

18 issues facing underserved insurance communities 

19 and consumers. 

20 (c) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) REPORTS AND TESTIMONY BY SECRETARY

22 OF THE TREASURY AND CHAIRMAN OF THE FED23 ERAL RESERVE.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

25 Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of 
59 

†S 2155 ES

1 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or 

2 their designee, shall submit to the Committee 

3 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 

4 Senate, and the Committee on Financial Serv5 ices of the House of Representatives, an annual 

6 report and provide annual testimony to the 

7 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

8 Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on 

9 Financial Services of the House of Representa10 tives on the efforts of the Secretary and the 

11 Chairman with the National Association of In12 surance Commissioners with respect to global 

13 insurance regulatory or supervisory forums, in14 cluding— 

15 (i) a description of the insurance reg16 ulatory or supervisory standard-setting 

17 issues under discussion at international 

18 standard-setting bodies, including the Fi19 nancial Stability Board and the Inter20 national Association of Insurance Super21 visors; 

22 (ii) a description of the effects that 

23 proposals discussed at international insur24 ance regulatory or supervisory forums of 
60 

†S 2155 ES

1 insurance could have on consumer and in2 surance markets in the United States; 

3 (iii) a description of any position 

4 taken by the Secretary of the Treasury, 

5 the Board of Governors of the Federal Re6 serve System, and the Director of the Fed7 eral Insurance Office in international in8 surance discussions; and 

9 (iv) a description of the efforts by the 

10 Secretary of the Treasury, the Board of 

11 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

12 and the Director of the Federal Insurance 

13 Office to increase transparency at the Fi14 nancial Stability Board with respect to in15 surance proposals and the International 

16 Association of Insurance Supervisors, in17 cluding efforts to provide additional public 

18 access to working groups and committees 

19 of the International Association of Insur20 ance Supervisors. 

21 (B) TERMINATION.—This paragraph shall 

22 terminate on December 31, 2024. 

23 (2) REPORTS AND TESTIMONY BY NATIONAL

24 ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS.—The 

25 National Association of Insurance Commissioners 
61 

†S 2155 ES

1 may provide testimony to Congress on the issues de2 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (3) JOINT REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE

4 FEDERAL RESERVE AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE

5 FEDERAL INSURANCE OFFICE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

7 Treasury, the Chairman of the Board of Gov8 ernors of the Federal Reserve System, and the 

9 Director of the Federal Insurance Office shall, 

10 in consultation with the National Association of 

11 Insurance Commissioners, complete a study on, 

12 and submit to Congress a report on the results 

13 of the study, the impact on consumers and mar14 kets in the United States before supporting or 

15 consenting to the adoption of any final inter16 national insurance capital standard. 

17 (B) NOTICE AND COMMENT.— 

18 (i) NOTICE.—The Secretary of the 

19 Treasury, the Chairman of the Board of 

20 Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

21 and the Director of the Federal Insurance 

22 Office shall provide public notice before the 

23 date on which drafting a report required 

24 under subparagraph (A) is commenced and 
62 

†S 2155 ES

1 after the date on which the draft of the re2 port is completed. 

3 (ii) OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT.— 

4 There shall be an opportunity for public 

5 comment for a period beginning on the 

6 date on which the report is submitted 

7 under subparagraph (A) and ending on the 

8 date that is 60 days after the date on 

9 which the report is submitted. 

10 (C) REVIEW BY COMPTROLLER GEN11 ERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury, Chair12 man of the Board of Governors of the Federal 

13 Reserve System, and the Director of the Fed14 eral Insurance Office shall submit to the Comp15 troller General of the United States the report 

16 described in subparagraph (A) for review. 

17 (4) REPORT ON INCREASE IN TRANS18 PARENCY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Board 

20 of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the 

21 Secretary of the Treasury, or their designees, shall 

22 submit to Congress a report and provide testimony 

23 to Congress on the efforts of the Chairman and the 

24 Secretary to increase transparency at meetings of 
63 

†S 2155 ES

1 the International Association of Insurance Super2 visors. 

3 SEC. 212. BUDGET TRANSPARENCY FOR THE NCUA. 

4 Section 209(b) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

5 U.S.C. 1789(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

7 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 

8 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re9 designated, the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) on an annual basis and prior to the sub11 mission of the detailed business-type budget required 

12 under paragraph (2)— 

13 ‘‘(A) make publicly available and publish in 

14 the Federal Register a draft of the detailed 

15 business-type budget; and 

16 ‘‘(B) hold a public hearing, with public no17 tice provided of the hearing, during which the 

18 public may submit comments on the draft of 

19 the detailed business-type budget;’’; and 

20 (3) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ after ‘‘submit 

22 a’’; and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘, which shall address any 

24 comment submitted by the public under para25 graph (1)(B)’’ after ‘‘Control Act’’. 
64 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 213. MAKING ONLINE BANKING INITIATION LEGAL 

2 AND EASY. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘‘affiliate’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Bank 

6 Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841). 

7 (2) DRIVER’S LICENSE.—The term ‘‘driver’s li8 cense’’ means a license issued by a State to an indi9 vidual that authorizes the individual to operate a 

10 motor vehicle on public streets, roads, or highways. 

11 (3) FEDERAL BANK SECRECY LAWS.—The term 

12 ‘‘Federal bank secrecy laws’’ means— 

13 (A) section 21 of the Federal Deposit In14 surance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b); 

15 (B) section 123 of Public Law 91–508 (12 

16 U.S.C. 1953); and 

17 (C) subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (4) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi20 nancial institution’’ means— 

21 (A) an insured depository institution; 

22 (B) an insured credit union; or 

23 (C) any affiliate of an insured depository 

24 institution or insured credit union. 

25 (5) FINANCIAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE.—The 

26 term ‘‘financial product or service’’ has the meaning 
65 

†S 2155 ES

1 given the term in section 1002 of the Consumer Fi2 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481). 

3 (6) INSURED CREDIT UNION.—The term ‘‘in4 sured credit union’’ has the meaning given the term 

5 in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

6 U.S.C. 1752). 

7 (7) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The 

8 term ‘‘insured depository institution’’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 3 of the Federal De10 posit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813). 

11 (8) ONLINE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘online serv12 ice’’ means any Internet-based service, such as a 

13 website or mobile application. 

14 (9) PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.—The 

15 term ‘‘personal identification card’’ means an identi16 fication document issued by a State or local govern17 ment to an individual solely for the purpose of iden18 tification of that individual. 

19 (10) PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The term 

20 ‘‘personal information’’ means the information dis21 played on or electronically encoded on a driver’s li22 cense or personal identification card that is reason23 ably necessary to fulfill the purpose and uses per24 mitted by subsection (b). 
66 

†S 2155 ES

1 (11) SCAN.—The term ‘‘scan’’ means the act of 

2 using a device or software to decipher, in an elec3 tronically readable format, personal information dis4 played on or electronically encoded on a driver’s li5 cense or personal identification card. 

6 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

7 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

8 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other 

9 commonwealth, possession, or territory of the United 

10 States. 

11 (b) USE OF A DRIVER’S LICENSE OR PERSONAL

12 IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—When an individual initiates 

14 a request through an online service to open an ac15 count with a financial institution or obtain a finan16 cial product or service from a financial institution, 

17 the financial institution may record personal infor18 mation from a scan of the driver’s license or per19 sonal identification card of the individual, or make 

20 a copy or receive an image of the driver’s license or 

21 personal identification card of the individual, and 

22 store or retain such information in any electronic 

23 format for the purposes described in paragraph (2). 

24 (2) USES OF INFORMATION.—Except as re25 quired to comply with Federal bank secrecy laws, a 
67 

†S 2155 ES

1 financial institution may only use the information 

2 obtained under paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) to verify the authenticity of the driv4 er’s license or personal identification card; 

5 (B) to verify the identity of the individual; 

6 and 

7 (C) to comply with a legal requirement to 

8 record, retain, or transmit the personal infor9 mation in connection with opening an account 

10 or obtaining a financial product or service. 

11 (3) DELETION OF IMAGE.—A financial institu12 tion that makes a copy or receives an image of a 

13 driver’s license or personal identification card of an 

14 individual in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) 

15 shall, after using the image for the purposes de16 scribed in paragraph (2), permanently delete— 

17 (A) any image of the driver’s license or 

18 personal identification card, as applicable; and 

19 (B) any copy of any such image. 

20 (4) DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMA21 TION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

22 amend, modify, or otherwise affect any State or 

23 Federal law that governs a financial institution’s 

24 disclosure and security of personal information that 

25 is not publicly available. 
68 

†S 2155 ES

1 (c) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—The provisions of 

2 this section shall preempt and supersede any State law 

3 that conflicts with a provision of this section, but only to 

4 the extent of such conflict. 

5 SEC. 214. PROMOTING CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 

6 ON MAIN STREET. 

7 The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 

8 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 51. CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN ACQUISI11 TION, DEVELOPMENT, OR CONSTRUCTION 

12 LOANS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate Federal bank14 ing agencies may only require a depository institution to 

15 assign a heightened risk weight to a high volatility com16 mercial real estate (HVCRE) exposure (as such term is 

17 defined under section 324.2 of title 12, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations, as of October 11, 2017, or if a successor reg19 ulation is in effect as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 section, such term or any successor term contained in such 

21 successor regulation) under any risk-based capital require22 ment if such exposure is an HVCRE ADC loan. 

23 ‘‘(b) HVCRE ADC LOAN DEFINED.—For purposes 

24 of this section and with respect to a depository institution, 

25 the term ‘HVCRE ADC loan’— 
69 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) means a credit facility secured by land or 

2 improved real property that, prior to being reclassi3 fied by the depository institution as a non-HVCRE 

4 ADC loan pursuant to subsection (d)— 

5 ‘‘(A) primarily finances, has financed, or 

6 refinances the acquisition, development, or con7 struction of real property; 

8 ‘‘(B) has the purpose of providing financ9 ing to acquire, develop, or improve such real 

10 property into income-producing real property; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(C) is dependent upon future income or 

13 sales proceeds from, or refinancing of, such real 

14 property for the repayment of such credit facil15 ity; 

16 ‘‘(2) does not include a credit facility financ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(A) the acquisition, development, or con19 struction of properties that are— 

20 ‘‘(i) one- to four-family residential 

21 properties; 

22 ‘‘(ii) real property that would qualify 

23 as an investment in community develop24 ment; or 

25 ‘‘(iii) agricultural land; 
70 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) the acquisition or refinance of exist2 ing income-producing real property secured by 

3 a mortgage on such property, if the cash flow 

4 being generated by the real property is suffi5 cient to support the debt service and expenses 

6 of the real property, in accordance with the in7 stitution’s applicable loan underwriting criteria 

8 for permanent financings; 

9 ‘‘(C) improvements to existing income-pro10 ducing improved real property secured by a 

11 mortgage on such property, if the cash flow 

12 being generated by the real property is suffi13 cient to support the debt service and expenses 

14 of the real property, in accordance with the in15 stitution’s applicable loan underwriting criteria 

16 for permanent financings; or 

17 ‘‘(D) commercial real property projects in 

18 which— 

19 ‘‘(i) the loan-to-value ratio is less than 

20 or equal to the applicable maximum super21 visory loan-to-value ratio as determined by 

22 the appropriate Federal banking agency; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the borrower has contributed 

24 capital of at least 15 percent of the real 
71 

†S 2155 ES

1 property’s appraised, ‘as completed’ value 

2 to the project in the form of— 

3 ‘‘(I) cash; 

4 ‘‘(II) unencumbered readily mar5 ketable assets; 

6 ‘‘(III) paid development expenses 

7 out-of-pocket; or 

8 ‘‘(IV) contributed real property 

9 or improvements; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the borrower contributed the 

11 minimum amount of capital described 

12 under clause (ii) before the depository in13 stitution advances funds (other than the 

14 advance of a nominal sum made in order 

15 to secure the depository institution’s lien 

16 against the real property) under the credit 

17 facility, and such minimum amount of cap18 ital contributed by the borrower is contrac19 tually required to remain in the project 

20 until the credit facility has been reclassi21 fied by the depository institution as a non22 HVCRE ADC loan under subsection (d); 

23 ‘‘(3) does not include any loan made prior to 

24 January 1, 2015; and 
72 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(4) does not include a credit facility reclassi2 fied as a non-HVCRE ADC loan under subsection 

3 (d). 

4 ‘‘(c) VALUE OF CONTRIBUTED REAL PROPERTY.— 

5 For purposes of this section, the value of any real property 

6 contributed by a borrower as a capital contribution shall 

7 be the appraised value of the property as determined 

8 under standards prescribed pursuant to section 1110 of 

9 the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforce10 ment Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 3339), in connection with 

11 the extension of the credit facility or loan to such bor12 rower. 

13 ‘‘(d) RECLASSIFICATION AS A NON-HVRCE ADC 

14 LOAN.—For purposes of this section and with respect to 

15 a credit facility and a depository institution, upon— 

16 ‘‘(1) the substantial completion of the develop17 ment or construction of the real property being fi18 nanced by the credit facility; and 

19 ‘‘(2) cash flow being generated by the real prop20 erty being sufficient to support the debt service and 

21 expenses of the real property, 

22 in accordance with the institution’s applicable loan under23 writing criteria for permanent financings, the credit facil24 ity may be reclassified by the depository institution as a 

25 Non-HVCRE ADC loan. 
73 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(e) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall limit the supervisory, regulatory, or enforcement 

3 authority of an appropriate Federal banking agency to 

4 further the safe and sound operation of an institution 

5 under the supervision of the appropriate Federal banking 

6 agency.’’. 

7 SEC. 215. REDUCING IDENTITY FRAUD. 

8 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to re9 duce the prevalence of synthetic identity fraud, which 

10 disproportionally affects vulnerable populations, such as 

11 minors and recent immigrants, by facilitating the valida12 tion by permitted entities of fraud protection data, pursu13 ant to electronically received consumer consent, through 

14 use of a database maintained by the Commissioner. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis17 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Social Secu18 rity Administration. 

19 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi20 nancial institution’’ has the meaning given the term 

21 in section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 6809). 

23 (3) FRAUD PROTECTION DATA.—The term 

24 ‘‘fraud protection data’’ means a combination of the 

25 following information with respect to an individual: 
74 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) The name of the individual (including 

2 the first name and any family forename or sur3 name of the individual). 

4 (B) The social security number of the indi5 vidual. 

6 (C) The date of birth (including the 

7 month, day, and year) of the individual. 

8 (4) PERMITTED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘permitted 

9 entity’’ means a financial institution or a service 

10 provider, subsidiary, affiliate, agent, subcontractor, 

11 or assignee of a financial institution. 

12 (c) EFFICIENCY.— 

13 (1) RELIANCE ON EXISTING METHODS.—The 

14 Commissioner shall evaluate the feasibility of mak15 ing modifications to any database that is in exist16 ence as of the date of enactment of this Act or a 

17 similar resource such that the database or re18 source— 

19 (A) is reasonably designed to effectuate the 

20 purpose of this section; and 

21 (B) meets the requirements of subsection 

22 (d). 

23 (2) EXECUTION.—The Commissioner shall 

24 make the modifications necessary to any database 

25 that is in existence as of the date of enactment of 
75 

†S 2155 ES

1 this Act or similar resource, or develop a database 

2 or similar resource, to effectuate the requirements 

3 described in paragraph (1). 

4 (d) PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE CONSUMERS.— 

5 The database or similar resource described in subsection 

6 (c) shall— 

7 (1) compare fraud protection data provided in 

8 an inquiry by a permitted entity against such infor9 mation maintained by the Commissioner in order to 

10 confirm (or not confirm) the validity of the informa11 tion provided; 

12 (2) be scalable and accommodate reasonably an13 ticipated volumes of verification requests from per14 mitted entities with commercially reasonable uptime 

15 and availability; and 

16 (3) allow permitted entities to submit— 

17 (A) 1 or more individual requests electroni18 cally for real-time machine-to-machine (or simi19 lar functionality) accurate responses; and 

20 (B) multiple requests electronically, such 

21 as those provided in a batch format, for accu22 rate electronic responses within a reasonable pe23 riod of time from submission, not to exceed 24 

24 hours. 
76 

†S 2155 ES

1 (e) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Before providing 

2 confirmation of fraud protection data to a permitted enti3 ty, the Commissioner shall ensure that the Commissioner 

4 has a certification from the permitted entity that is dated 

5 not more than 2 years before the date on which that con6 firmation is provided that includes the following declara7 tions: 

8 (1) The entity is a permitted entity. 

9 (2) The entity is in compliance with this sec10 tion. 

11 (3) The entity is, and will remain, in compli12 ance with its privacy and data security requirements, 

13 as described in title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.), with respect to infor15 mation the entity receives from the Commissioner 

16 pursuant to this section. 

17 (4) The entity will retain sufficient records to 

18 demonstrate its compliance with its certification and 

19 this section for a period of not less than 2 years. 

20 (f) CONSUMER CONSENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law or regulation, a permitted entity 

23 may submit a request to the database or similar re24 source described in subsection (c) only— 
77 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) pursuant to the written, including elec2 tronic, consent received by a permitted entity 

3 from the individual who is the subject of the re4 quest; and 

5 (B) in connection with a credit transaction 

6 or any circumstance described in section 604 of 

7 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 1681b). 

9 (2) ELECTRONIC CONSENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 For a permitted entity to use the consent of an indi11 vidual received electronically pursuant to paragraph 

12 (1)(A), the permitted entity must obtain the individ13 ual’s electronic signature, as defined in section 106 

14 of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National 

15 Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 7006). 

16 (3) EFFECTUATING ELECTRONIC CONSENT.— 

17 No provision of law or requirement, including section 

18 552a of title 5, United States Code, shall prevent 

19 the use of electronic consent for purposes of this 

20 subsection or for use in any other consent based 

21 verification under the discretion of the Commis22 sioner. 

23 (g) COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

24 (1) AUDITS AND MONITORING.—The Commis25 sioner may— 
78 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) conduct audits and monitoring to— 

2 (i) ensure proper use by permitted en3 tities of the database or similar resource 

4 described in subsection (c); and 

5 (ii) deter fraud and misuse by per6 mitted entities with respect to the database 

7 or similar resource described in subsection 

8 (c); and 

9 (B) terminate services for any permitted 

10 entity that prevents or refuses to allow the 

11 Commissioner to carry out the activities de12 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

13 (2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other provision of law, including the matter pre16 ceding paragraph (1) of section 505(a) of the 

17 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6805(a)), 

18 any violation of this section and any certifi19 cation made under this section shall be enforced 

20 in accordance with paragraphs (1) through (7) 

21 of such section 505(a) by the agencies described 

22 in those paragraphs. 

23 (B) RELEVANT INFORMATION.—Upon dis24 covery by the Commissioner, pursuant to an 

25 audit described in paragraph (1), of any viola-
79 

†S 2155 ES

1 tion of this section or any certification made 

2 under this section, the Commissioner shall for3 ward any relevant information pertaining to 

4 that violation to the appropriate agency de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) for evaluation by 

6 the agency for purposes of enforcing this sec7 tion. 

8 (h) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts obligated to 

11 carry out this section shall be fully recovered 

12 from the users of the database or verification 

13 system by way of advances, reimbursements, 

14 user fees, or other recoveries as determined by 

15 the Commissioner. The funds recovered under 

16 this paragraph shall be deposited as an offset17 ting collection to the account providing appro18 priations for the Social Security Administration, 

19 to be used for the administration of this section 

20 without fiscal year limitation. 

21 (B) PRICES FIXED BY COMMISSIONER.— 

22 The Commissioner shall establish the amount to 

23 be paid by the users under this paragraph, in24 cluding the costs of any services or work per25 formed, such as any appropriate upgrades, 
80 

†S 2155 ES

1 maintenance, and associated direct and indirect 

2 administrative costs, in support of carrying out 

3 the purposes described in this section, by reim4 bursement or in advance as determined by the 

5 Commissioner. The amount of such prices shall 

6 be periodically adjusted by the Commissioner to 

7 ensure that amounts collected are sufficient to 

8 fully offset the cost of the administration of this 

9 section. 

10 (2) INITIAL DEVELOPMENT.—The Commis11 sioner shall not begin development of a verification 

12 system to carry out this section until the Commis13 sioner determines that amounts equal to at least 50 

14 percent of program start-up costs have been col15 lected under paragraph (1). 

16 (3) EXISTING RESOURCES.—The Commissioner 

17 may use funds designated for information technology 

18 modernization to carry out this section. 

19 (4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Commissioner shall 

20 annually submit to the Committee on Ways and 

21 Means of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the 

23 amount of indirect costs to the Social Security Ad24 ministration arising as a result of the implementa25 tion of this section. 
81 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 216. TREASURY REPORT ON RISKS OF CYBER 

2 THREATS. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 

5 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af6 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Serv7 ices of the House of Representatives a report on the risks 

8 of cyber threats to financial institutions and capital mar9 kets in the United States, including— 

10 (1) an assessment of the material risks of cyber 

11 threats to financial institutions and capital markets 

12 in the United States; 

13 (2) the impact and potential effects of material 

14 cyber attacks on financial institutions and capital 

15 markets in the United States; 

16 (3) an analysis of how the appropriate Federal 

17 banking agencies and the Securities and Exchange 

18 Commission are addressing the material risks of 

19 cyber threats described in paragraph (1), includ20 ing— 

21 (A) how the appropriate Federal banking 

22 agencies and the Securities and Exchange Com23 mission are assessing those threats; 

24 (B) how the appropriate Federal banking 

25 agencies and the Securities and Exchange Com-
82 

†S 2155 ES

1 mission are assessing the cyber vulnerabilities 

2 and preparedness of financial institutions; 

3 (C) coordination amongst the appropriate 

4 Federal banking agencies and the Securities 

5 and Exchange Commission, and their coordina6 tion with other government agencies (including 

7 with respect to regulations, examinations, lexi8 con, duplication, and other regulatory tools); 

9 and 

10 (D) areas for improvement; and 

11 (4) a recommendation of whether any appro12 priate Federal banking agency or the Securities and 

13 Exchange Commission needs additional legal au14 thorities or resources to adequately assess and ad15 dress the material risks of cyber threats described in 

16 paragraph (1), given the analysis required by para17 graph (3). 

18 SEC. 217. DISCRETIONARY SURPLUS FUNDS. 

19 Section 7(a)(3)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 

20 U.S.C. 289(a)(3)(A)) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘$7,500,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$6,825,000,000’’. 
83 

†S 2155 ES

1 TITLE III—PROTECTIONS FOR 

2 VETERANS, CONSUMERS, AND 

3 HOMEOWNERS 

4 SEC. 301. PROTECTING CONSUMERS’ CREDIT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605A of the Fair Credit 

6 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘90 

8 days’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL SECURITY FREEZE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(A) The term ‘consumer reporting agen14 cy’ means a consumer reporting agency de15 scribed in section 603(p). 

16 ‘‘(B) The term ‘proper identification’ has 

17 the meaning of such term as used under section 

18 610. 

19 ‘‘(C) The term ‘security freeze’ means a 

20 restriction that prohibits a consumer reporting 

21 agency from disclosing the contents of a con22 sumer report that is subject to such security 

23 freeze to any person requesting the consumer 

24 report. 

25 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT OF SECURITY FREEZE.— 
84 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving a di2 rect request from a consumer that a consumer 

3 reporting agency place a security freeze, and 

4 upon receiving proper identification from the 

5 consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall, 

6 free of charge, place the security freeze not 

7 later than— 

8 ‘‘(i) in the case of a request that is by 

9 toll-free telephone or secure electronic 

10 means, 1 business day after receiving the 

11 request directly from the consumer; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a request that is 

13 by mail, 3 business days after receiving the 

14 request directly from the consumer. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONFIRMATION AND ADDITIONAL IN16 FORMATION.—Not later than 5 business days 

17 after placing a security freeze under subpara18 graph (A), a consumer reporting agency shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) send confirmation of the place20 ment to the consumer; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) inform the consumer of— 

22 ‘‘(I) the process by which the 

23 consumer may remove the security 

24 freeze, including a mechanism to au25 thenticate the consumer; and 
85 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(II) the consumer’s right de2 scribed in section 615(d)(1)(D). 

3 ‘‘(C) NOTICE TO THIRD PARTIES.—A con4 sumer reporting agency may advise a third 

5 party that a security freeze has been placed 

6 with respect to a consumer under subparagraph 

7 (A). 

8 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL OF SECURITY FREEZE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

10 agency shall remove a security freeze placed on 

11 the consumer report of a consumer only in the 

12 following cases: 

13 ‘‘(i) Upon the direct request of the 

14 consumer. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The security freeze was placed 

16 due to a material misrepresentation of fact 

17 by the consumer. 

18 ‘‘(B) NOTICE IF REMOVAL NOT BY RE19 QUEST.—If a consumer reporting agency re20 moves a security freeze under subparagraph 

21 (A)(ii), the consumer reporting agency shall no22 tify the consumer in writing prior to removing 

23 the security freeze. 

24 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL OF SECURITY FREEZE BY

25 CONSUMER REQUEST.—Except as provided in 
86 

†S 2155 ES

1 subparagraph (A)(ii), a security freeze shall re2 main in place until the consumer directly re3 quests that the security freeze be removed. 

4 Upon receiving a direct request from a con5 sumer that a consumer reporting agency re6 move a security freeze, and upon receiving 

7 proper identification from the consumer, the 

8 consumer reporting agency shall, free of charge, 

9 remove the security freeze not later than— 

10 ‘‘(i) in the case of a request that is by 

11 toll-free telephone or secure electronic 

12 means, 1 hour after receiving the request 

13 for removal; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a request that is 

15 by mail, 3 business days after receiving the 

16 request for removal. 

17 ‘‘(D) THIRD-PARTY REQUESTS.—If a third 

18 party requests access to a consumer report of 

19 a consumer with respect to which a security 

20 freeze is in effect, where such request is in con21 nection with an application for credit, and the 

22 consumer does not allow such consumer report 

23 to be accessed, the third party may treat the 

24 application as incomplete. 
87 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(E) TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF SECURITY

2 FREEZE.—Upon receiving a direct request from 

3 a consumer under subparagraph (A)(i), if the 

4 consumer requests a temporary removal of a se5 curity freeze, the consumer reporting agency 

6 shall, in accordance with subparagraph (C), re7 move the security freeze for the period of time 

8 specified by the consumer. 

9 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—A security freeze shall not 

10 apply to the making of a consumer report for use of 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) A person or entity, or a subsidiary, 

13 affiliate, or agent of that person or entity, or an 

14 assignee of a financial obligation owed by the 

15 consumer to that person or entity, or a prospec16 tive assignee of a financial obligation owed by 

17 the consumer to that person or entity in con18 junction with the proposed purchase of the fi19 nancial obligation, with which the consumer has 

20 or had prior to assignment an account or con21 tract including a demand deposit account, or to 

22 whom the consumer issued a negotiable instru23 ment, for the purposes of reviewing the account 

24 or collecting the financial obligation owed for 

25 the account, contract, or negotiable instrument. 
88 

†S 2155 ES

1 For purposes of this subparagraph, ‘reviewing 

2 the account’ includes activities related to ac3 count maintenance, monitoring, credit line in4 creases, and account upgrades and enhance5 ments. 

6 ‘‘(B) Any Federal, State, or local agency, 

7 law enforcement agency, trial court, or private 

8 collection agency acting pursuant to a court 

9 order, warrant, or subpoena. 

10 ‘‘(C) A child support agency acting pursu11 ant to part D of title IV of the Social Security 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(D) A Federal agency or a State or its 

14 agents or assigns acting to investigate fraud or 

15 acting to investigate or collect delinquent taxes 

16 or unpaid court orders or to fulfill any of its 

17 other statutory responsibilities, provided such 

18 responsibilities are consistent with a permissible 

19 purpose under section 604. 

20 ‘‘(E) By a person using credit information 

21 for the purposes described under section 604(c). 

22 ‘‘(F) Any person or entity administering a 

23 credit file monitoring subscription or similar 

24 service to which the consumer has subscribed. 
89 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(G) Any person or entity for the purpose 

2 of providing a consumer with a copy of the con3 sumer’s consumer report or credit score, upon 

4 the request of the consumer. 

5 ‘‘(H) Any person using the information in 

6 connection with the underwriting of insurance. 

7 ‘‘(I) Any person using the information for 

8 employment, tenant, or background screening 

9 purposes. 

10 ‘‘(J) Any person using the information for 

11 assessing, verifying, or authenticating a con12 sumer’s identity for purposes other than the 

13 granting of credit, or for investigating or pre14 venting actual or potential fraud. 

15 ‘‘(5) NOTICE OF RIGHTS.—At any time a con16 sumer is required to receive a summary of rights re17 quired under section 609, the following notice shall 

18 be included: 

19 ‘‘ ‘CONSUMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN A

20 SECURITY FREEZE

21 ‘‘ ‘You have a right to place a ‘‘security freeze’’ on 

22 your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer report23 ing agency from releasing information in your credit re24 port without your express authorization. The security 

25 freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services 
90 

†S 2155 ES

1 from being approved in your name without your consent. 

2 However, you should be aware that using a security freeze 

3 to take control over who gets access to the personal and 

4 financial information in your credit report may delay, 

5 interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any sub6 sequent request or application you make regarding a new 

7 loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the 

8 extension of credit. 

9 ‘‘ ‘As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the 

10 right to place an initial or extended fraud alert on your 

11 credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year 

12 alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon see13 ing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a 

14 business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s 

15 identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim 

16 of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud 

17 alert, which is a fraud alert lasting 7 years. 

18 ‘‘ ‘A security freeze does not apply to a person or enti19 ty, or its affiliates, or collection agencies acting on behalf 

20 of the person or entity, with which you have an existing 

21 account that requests information in your credit report for 

22 the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account. Re23 viewing the account includes activities related to account 

24 maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and ac25 count upgrades and enhancements.’. 
91 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(6) WEBPAGE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.— 

3 A consumer reporting agency shall establish a 

4 webpage that— 

5 ‘‘(i) allows a consumer to request a 

6 security freeze; 

7 ‘‘(ii) allows a consumer to request an 

8 initial fraud alert; 

9 ‘‘(iii) allows a consumer to request an 

10 extended fraud alert; 

11 ‘‘(iv) allows a consumer to request an 

12 active duty fraud alert; 

13 ‘‘(v) allows a consumer to opt-out of 

14 the use of information in a consumer re15 port to send the consumer a solicitation of 

16 credit or insurance, in accordance with sec17 tion 615(d); and 

18 ‘‘(vi) shall not be the only mechanism 

19 by which a consumer may request a secu20 rity freeze. 

21 ‘‘(B) FTC.—The Federal Trade Commis22 sion shall establish a single webpage that in23 cludes a link to each webpage established under 

24 subparagraph (A) within the Federal Trade 
92 

†S 2155 ES

1 Commission’s website www.Identitytheft.gov, or 

2 a successor website. 

3 ‘‘(j) NATIONAL PROTECTION FOR FILES AND CREDIT

4 RECORDS OF PROTECTED CONSUMERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this subsection: 

6 ‘‘(A) The term ‘consumer reporting agen7 cy’ means a consumer reporting agency de8 scribed in section 603(p). 

9 ‘‘(B) The term ‘protected consumer’ means 

10 an individual who is— 

11 ‘‘(i) under the age of 16 years at the 

12 time a request for the placement of a secu13 rity freeze is made; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) an incapacitated person or a pro15 tected person for whom a guardian or con16 servator has been appointed. 

17 ‘‘(C) The term ‘protected consumer’s rep18 resentative’ means a person who provides to a 

19 consumer reporting agency sufficient proof of 

20 authority to act on behalf of a protected con21 sumer. 

22 ‘‘(D) The term ‘record’ means a compila23 tion of information that— 

24 ‘‘(i) identifies a protected consumer; 
93 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) is created by a consumer report2 ing agency solely for the purpose of com3 plying with this subsection; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) may not be created or used to 

5 consider the protected consumer’s credit 

6 worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, 

7 character, general reputation, personal 

8 characteristics, or mode of living. 

9 ‘‘(E) The term ‘security freeze’ means a 

10 restriction that prohibits a consumer reporting 

11 agency from disclosing the contents of a con12 sumer report that is the subject of such security 

13 freeze or, in the case of a protected consumer 

14 for whom the consumer reporting agency does 

15 not have a file, a record that is subject to such 

16 security freeze to any person requesting the 

17 consumer report for the purpose of opening a 

18 new account involving the extension of credit. 

19 ‘‘(F) The term ‘sufficient proof of author20 ity’ means documentation that shows a pro21 tected consumer’s representative has authority 

22 to act on behalf of a protected consumer and 

23 includes— 

24 ‘‘(i) an order issued by a court of law; 
94 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) a lawfully executed and valid 

2 power of attorney; 

3 ‘‘(iii) a document issued by a Federal, 

4 State, or local government agency in the 

5 United States showing proof of parentage, 

6 including a birth certificate; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) with respect to a protected con8 sumer who has been placed in a foster care 

9 setting, a written communication from a 

10 county welfare department or its agent or 

11 designee, or a county probation depart12 ment or its agent or designee, certifying 

13 that the protected consumer is in a foster 

14 care setting under its jurisdiction. 

15 ‘‘(G) The term ‘sufficient proof of identi16 fication’ means information or documentation 

17 that identifies a protected consumer and a pro18 tected consumer’s representative and includes— 

19 ‘‘(i) a social security number or a 

20 copy of a social security card issued by the 

21 Social Security Administration; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a certified or official copy of a 

23 birth certificate issued by the entity au24 thorized to issue the birth certificate; or 
95 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(iii) a copy of a driver’s license, an 

2 identification card issued by the motor ve3 hicle administration, or any other govern4 ment issued identification. 

5 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT OF SECURITY FREEZE FOR A

6 PROTECTED CONSUMER.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving a di8 rect request from a protected consumer’s rep9 resentative that a consumer reporting agency 

10 place a security freeze, and upon receiving suffi11 cient proof of identification and sufficient proof 

12 of authority, the consumer reporting agency 

13 shall, free of charge, place the security freeze 

14 not later than— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a request that is by 

16 toll-free telephone or secure electronic 

17 means, 1 business day after receiving the 

18 request directly from the protected con19 sumer’s representative; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a request that is 

21 by mail, 3 business days after receiving the 

22 request directly from the protected con23 sumer’s representative. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONFIRMATION AND ADDITIONAL IN25 FORMATION.—Not later than 5 business days 
96 

†S 2155 ES

1 after placing a security freeze under subpara2 graph (A), a consumer reporting agency shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) send confirmation of the place4 ment to the protected consumer’s rep5 resentative; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) inform the protected consumer’s 

7 representative of the process by which the 

8 protected consumer may remove the secu9 rity freeze, including a mechanism to au10 thenticate the protected consumer’s rep11 resentative. 

12 ‘‘(C) CREATION OF FILE.—If a consumer 

13 reporting agency does not have a file pertaining 

14 to a protected consumer when the consumer re15 porting agency receives a direct request under 

16 subparagraph (A), the consumer reporting 

17 agency shall create a record for the protected 

18 consumer. 

19 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON RELEASE OF RECORD OR

20 FILE OF PROTECTED CONSUMER.—After a security 

21 freeze has been placed under paragraph (2)(A), and 

22 unless the security freeze is removed in accordance 

23 with this subsection, a consumer reporting agency 

24 may not release the protected consumer’s consumer 

25 report, any information derived from the protected 
97 

†S 2155 ES

1 consumer’s consumer report, or any record created 

2 for the protected consumer. 

3 ‘‘(4) REMOVAL OF A PROTECTED CONSUMER

4 SECURITY FREEZE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

6 agency shall remove a security freeze placed on 

7 the consumer report of a protected consumer 

8 only in the following cases: 

9 ‘‘(i) Upon the direct request of the 

10 protected consumer’s representative. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Upon the direct request of the 

12 protected consumer, if the protected con13 sumer is not under the age of 16 years at 

14 the time of the request. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The security freeze was placed 

16 due to a material misrepresentation of fact 

17 by the protected consumer’s representative. 

18 ‘‘(B) NOTICE IF REMOVAL NOT BY RE19 QUEST.—If a consumer reporting agency re20 moves a security freeze under subparagraph 

21 (A)(iii), the consumer reporting agency shall 

22 notify the protected consumer’s representative 

23 in writing prior to removing the security freeze. 

24 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL OF FREEZE BY RE25 QUEST.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
98 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A)(iii), a security freeze shall remain in place 

2 until a protected consumer’s representative or 

3 protected consumer described in subparagraph 

4 (A)(ii) directly requests that the security freeze 

5 be removed. Upon receiving a direct request 

6 from the protected consumer’s representative or 

7 protected consumer described in subparagraph 

8 (A)(ii) that a consumer reporting agency re9 move a security freeze, and upon receiving suf10 ficient proof of identification and sufficient 

11 proof of authority, the consumer reporting 

12 agency shall, free of charge, remove the security 

13 freeze not later than— 

14 ‘‘(i) in the case of a request that is by 

15 toll-free telephone or secure electronic 

16 means, 1 hour after receiving the request 

17 for removal; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a request that is 

19 by mail, 3 business days after receiving the 

20 request for removal. 

21 ‘‘(D) TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF SECURITY

22 FREEZE.—Upon receiving a direct request from 

23 a protected consumer or a protected consumer’s 

24 representative under subparagraph (A)(i), if the 

25 protected consumer or protected consumer’s 
99 

†S 2155 ES

1 representative requests a temporary removal of 

2 a security freeze, the consumer reporting agen3 cy shall, in accordance with subparagraph (C), 

4 remove the security freeze for the period of time 

5 specified by the protected consumer or pro6 tected consumer’s representative.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 625(b)(1) 

8 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

11 the end; and 

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

13 ‘‘(J) subsections (i) and (j) of section 

14 605A relating to security freezes; or’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect on the date that is 120 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 302. PROTECTING VETERANS’ CREDIT. 

19 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

20 (1) to rectify problematic reporting of medical 

21 debt included in a consumer report of a veteran due 

22 to inappropriate or delayed payment for hospital 

23 care, medical services, or extended care services pro24 vided in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facil-
100 

†S 2155 ES

1 ity under the laws administered by the Secretary of 

2 Veterans Affairs; and 

3 (2) to clarify the process of debt collection for 

4 such medical debt. 

5 (b) AMENDMENTS TO FAIR CREDIT REPORTING

6 ACT.— 

7 (1) VETERAN’S MEDICAL DEBT DEFINED.—Sec8 tion 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(z) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

13 Code. 

14 ‘‘(aa) VETERAN’S MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘vet15 eran’s medical debt’— 

16 ‘‘(1) means a medical collection debt of a vet17 eran owed to a non-Department of Veterans Affairs 

18 health care provider that was submitted to the De19 partment for payment for health care authorized by 

20 the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

21 ‘‘(2) includes medical collection debt that the 

22 Department of Veterans Affairs has wrongfully 

23 charged a veteran.’’. 

24 (2) EXCLUSION FOR VETERAN’S MEDICAL

25 DEBT.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
101 

†S 2155 ES

1 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding at 

2 the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(7) With respect to a consumer reporting 

4 agency described in section 603(p), any information 

5 related to a veteran’s medical debt if the date on 

6 which the hospital care, medical services, or ex7 tended care services was rendered relating to the 

8 debt antedates the report by less than 1 year if the 

9 consumer reporting agency has actual knowledge 

10 that the information is related to a veteran’s medical 

11 debt and the consumer reporting agency is in com12 pliance with its obligation under section 302(c)(5) of 

13 the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Con14 sumer Protection Act. 

15 ‘‘(8) With respect to a consumer reporting 

16 agency described in section 603(p), any information 

17 related to a fully paid or settled veteran’s medical 

18 debt that had been characterized as delinquent, 

19 charged off, or in collection if the consumer report20 ing agency has actual knowledge that the informa21 tion is related to a veteran’s medical debt and the 

22 consumer reporting agency is in compliance with its 

23 obligation under section 302(c)(5) of the Economic 

24 Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection 

25 Act.’’. 
102 

†S 2155 ES

1 (3) REMOVAL OF VETERAN’S MEDICAL DEBT

2 FROM CONSUMER REPORT.—Section 611 of the Fair 

3 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amend4 ed— 

5 (A) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘and except as provided in subsection (g)’’ after 

7 ‘‘subsection (f)’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(g) DISPUTE PROCESS FOR VETERAN’S MEDICAL

10 DEBT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a veteran’s 

12 medical debt, the veteran may submit a notice de13 scribed in paragraph (2), proof of liability of the De14 partment of Veterans Affairs for payment of that 

15 debt, or documentation that the Department of Vet16 erans Affairs is in the process of making payment 

17 for authorized hospital care, medical services, or ex18 tended care services rendered to a consumer report19 ing agency or a reseller to dispute the inclusion of 

20 that debt on a consumer report of the veteran. 

21 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO VETERAN.—The De22 partment of Veterans Affairs shall submit to a vet23 eran a notice that the Department of Veterans Af24 fairs has assumed liability for part or all of a vet25 eran’s medical debt. 
103 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(3) DELETION OF INFORMATION FROM

2 FILE.—If a consumer reporting agency receives no3 tice, proof of liability, or documentation under para4 graph (1), the consumer reporting agency shall de5 lete all information relating to the veteran’s medical 

6 debt from the file of the veteran and notify the fur7 nisher and the veteran of that deletion.’’. 

8 (c) VERIFICATION OF VETERAN’S MEDICAL DEBT.— 

9 (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub10 section— 

11 (A) the term ‘‘consumer reporting agency’’ 

12 means a consumer reporting agency described 

13 in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(p)); and 

15 (B) the terms ‘‘veteran’’ and ‘‘veteran’s 

16 medical debt’’ have the meanings given those 

17 terms in section 603 of the Fair Credit Report18 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a), as added by sub19 section (b)(1). 

20 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of Veterans Affairs shall establish a database 

23 to allow consumer reporting agencies to verify 

24 whether a debt furnished to a consumer reporting 

25 agency is a veteran’s medical debt. 
104 

†S 2155 ES

1 (3) DATABASE FEATURES.—The Secretary of 

2 Veterans Affairs shall ensure that the database es3 tablished under paragraph (2), to the extent per4 mitted by law, provides consumer reporting agencies 

5 with— 

6 (A) sufficiently detailed and specific infor7 mation to verify whether a debt being furnished 

8 to the consumer reporting agency is a veteran’s 

9 medical debt; 

10 (B) access to verification information in a 

11 secure electronic format; 

12 (C) timely access to verification informa13 tion; and 

14 (D) any other features that would promote 

15 the efficient, timely, and secure delivery of in16 formation that consumer reporting agencies 

17 could use to verify whether a debt is a veteran’s 

18 medical debt. 

19 (4) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—Prior to estab20 lishing the database for verification under paragraph 

21 (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall publish 

22 in the Federal Register a notice and request for 

23 comment that solicits input from consumer reporting 

24 agencies and other stakeholders. 
105 

†S 2155 ES

1 (5) VERIFICATION.—Provided the database es2 tablished under paragraph (2) is fully functional and 

3 the data available to consumer reporting agencies, a 

4 consumer reporting agency shall use the database as 

5 a means to identify a veteran’s medical debt pursu6 ant to paragraphs (7) and (8) of section 605(a) of 

7 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), 

8 as added by subsection (b)(2). 

9 (d) CREDIT MONITORING.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 605A of the Fair 

11 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1), as 

12 amended by section 301(a), is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(k) CREDIT MONITORING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

16 ‘‘(A) The term ‘active duty military con17 sumer’ includes a member of the National 

18 Guard. 

19 ‘‘(B) The term ‘National Guard’ has the 

20 meaning given the term in section 101(c) of 

21 title 10, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(2) CREDIT MONITORING.—A consumer re23 porting agency described in section 603(p) shall pro24 vide a free electronic credit monitoring service that, 

25 at a minimum, notifies a consumer of material addi-
106 

†S 2155 ES

1 tions or modifications to the file of the consumer at 

2 the consumer reporting agency to any consumer who 

3 provides to the consumer reporting agency— 

4 ‘‘(A) appropriate proof that the consumer 

5 is an active duty military consumer; and 

6 ‘‘(B) contact information of the consumer. 

7 ‘‘(3) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

9 Federal Trade Commission shall promulgate regula10 tions regarding the requirements of this subsection, 

11 which shall at a minimum include— 

12 ‘‘(A) a definition of an electronic credit 

13 monitoring service and material additions or 

14 modifications to the file of a consumer; and 

15 ‘‘(B) what constitutes appropriate proof. 

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) Sections 616 and 617 shall not apply 

18 to any violation of this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) This subsection shall be enforced ex20 clusively under section 621 by the Federal 

21 agencies and Federal and State officials identi22 fied in that section.’’. 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

24 625(b)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
107 

†S 2155 ES

1 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1)), as amended by section 301(b), 

2 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(K) subsection (k) of section 605A, relat4 ing to credit monitoring for active duty military 

5 consumers, as defined in that subsection;’’. 

6 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 303. IMMUNITY FROM SUIT FOR DISCLOSURE OF FI10 NANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF SENIOR CITI11 ZENS. 

12 (a) IMMUNITY.— 

13 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 (A) the term ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act officer’’ 

15 means an individual responsible for ensuring 

16 compliance with the requirements mandated by 

17 subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United 

18 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Bank 

19 Secrecy Act’’); 

20 (B) the term ‘‘broker-dealer’’ means a 

21 broker and a dealer, as those terms are defined 

22 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act 

23 of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); 

24 (C) the term ‘‘covered agency’’ means— 
108 

†S 2155 ES

1 (i) a State financial regulatory agen2 cy, including a State securities or law en3 forcement authority and a State insurance 

4 regulator; 

5 (ii) each of the Federal agencies rep6 resented in the membership of the Finan7 cial Institutions Examination Council es8 tablished under section 1004 of the Fed9 eral Financial Institutions Examination 

10 Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3303); 

11 (iii) a securities association registered 

12 under section 15A of the Securities Ex13 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78o–3); 

14 (iv) the Securities and Exchange 

15 Commission; 

16 (v) a law enforcement agency; or 

17 (vi) a State or local agency respon18 sible for administering adult protective 

19 service laws; 

20 (D) the term ‘‘covered financial institu21 tion’’ means— 

22 (i) a credit union; 

23 (ii) a depository institution; 

24 (iii) an investment adviser; 

25 (iv) a broker-dealer; 
109 

†S 2155 ES

1 (v) an insurance company; 

2 (vi) an insurance agency; or 

3 (vii) a transfer agent; 

4 (E) the term ‘‘credit union’’ has the mean5 ing given the term in section 2 of the Dodd6 Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Pro7 tection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301); 

8 (F) the term ‘‘depository institution’’ has 

9 the meaning given the term in section 3(c) of 

10 the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 

11 1813(c)); 

12 (G) the term ‘‘exploitation’’ means the 

13 fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or 

14 improper act or process of an individual, includ15 ing a caregiver or a fiduciary, that— 

16 (i) uses the resources of a senior cit17 izen for monetary or personal benefit, prof18 it, or gain; or 

19 (ii) results in depriving a senior cit20 izen of rightful access to or use of benefits, 

21 resources, belongings, or assets; 

22 (H) the term ‘‘insurance agency’’ means 

23 any business entity that sells, solicits, or nego24 tiates insurance coverage; 
110 

†S 2155 ES

1 (I) the term ‘‘insurance company’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 2(a) of the 

3 Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 

4 80a–2(a)); 

5 (J) the term ‘‘insurance producer’’ means 

6 an individual who is required under State law 

7 to be licensed in order to sell, solicit, or nego8 tiate insurance coverage; 

9 (K) the term ‘‘investment adviser’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 202(a) of the 

11 Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 

12 80b–2(a)); 

13 (L) the term ‘‘investment adviser rep14 resentative’’ means an individual who— 

15 (i) is employed by, or associated with, 

16 an investment adviser; and 

17 (ii) does not perform solely clerical or 

18 ministerial acts; 

19 (M) the term ‘‘registered representative’’ 

20 means an individual who represents a broker21 dealer in effecting or attempting to effect a 

22 purchase or sale of securities; 

23 (N) the term ‘‘senior citizen’’ means an in24 dividual who is not younger than 65 years of 

25 age; 
111 

†S 2155 ES

1 (O) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 

2 several States, the District of Columbia, and 

3 any territory or possession of the United States; 

4 (P) the term ‘‘State insurance regulator’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 315 

6 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 6735); 

8 (Q) the term ‘‘State securities or law en9 forcement authority’’ has the meaning given the 

10 term in section 24(f)(4) of the Securities Ex11 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78x(f)(4)); and 

12 (R) the term ‘‘transfer agent’’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the 

14 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 

15 78c(a)). 

16 (2) IMMUNITY FROM SUIT.— 

17 (A) IMMUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS.—An in18 dividual who has received the training described 

19 in subsection (b) shall not be liable, including in 

20 any civil or administrative proceeding, for dis21 closing the suspected exploitation of a senior 

22 citizen to a covered agency if the individual, at 

23 the time of the disclosure— 

24 (i) served as a supervisor or in a com25 pliance or legal function (including as a 
112 

†S 2155 ES

1 Bank Secrecy Act officer) for, or, in the 

2 case of a registered representative, invest3 ment adviser representative, or insurance 

4 producer, was affiliated or associated with, 

5 a covered financial institution; and 

6 (ii) made the disclosure— 

7 (I) in good faith; and 

8 (II) with reasonable care. 

9 (B) IMMUNITY FOR COVERED FINANCIAL

10 INSTITUTIONS.—A covered financial institution 

11 shall not be liable, including in any civil or ad12 ministrative proceeding, for a disclosure made 

13 by an individual described in subparagraph (A) 

14 if— 

15 (i) the individual was employed by, or, 

16 in the case of a registered representative, 

17 insurance producer, or investment adviser 

18 representative, affiliated or associated 

19 with, the covered financial institution at 

20 the time of the disclosure; and 

21 (ii) before the time of the disclosure, 

22 each individual described in subsection 

23 (b)(1) received the training described in 

24 subsection (b). 
113 

†S 2155 ES

1 (C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 subparagraph (A) or (B) shall be construed to 

3 limit the liability of an individual or a covered 

4 financial institution in a civil action for any act, 

5 omission, or fraud that is not a disclosure de6 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

7 (b) TRAINING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered financial institu9 tion or a third party selected by a covered financial 

10 institution may provide the training described in 

11 paragraph (2)(A) to each officer or employee of, or 

12 registered representative, insurance producer, or in13 vestment adviser representative affiliated or associ14 ated with, the covered financial institution who— 

15 (A) is described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(i); 

16 (B) may come into contact with a senior 

17 citizen as a regular part of the professional du18 ties of the individual; or 

19 (C) may review or approve the financial 

20 documents, records, or transactions of a senior 

21 citizen in connection with providing financial 

22 services to a senior citizen. 

23 (2) CONTENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The content of the 

25 training that a covered financial institution or 
114 

†S 2155 ES

1 a third party selected by the covered financial 

2 institution may provide under paragraph (1) 

3 shall— 

4 (i) be maintained by the covered fi5 nancial institution and made available to a 

6 covered agency with examination authority 

7 over the covered financial institution, upon 

8 request, except that a covered financial in9 stitution shall not be required to maintain 

10 or make available such content with re11 spect to any individual who is no longer 

12 employed by, or affiliated or associated 

13 with, the covered financial institution; 

14 (ii) instruct any individual attending 

15 the training on how to identify and report 

16 the suspected exploitation of a senior cit17 izen internally and, as appropriate, to gov18 ernment officials or law enforcement au19 thorities, including common signs that in20 dicate the financial exploitation of a senior 

21 citizen; 

22 (iii) discuss the need to protect the 

23 privacy and respect the integrity of each 

24 individual customer of the covered financial 

25 institution; and 
115 

†S 2155 ES

1 (iv) be appropriate to the job respon2 sibilities of the individual attending the 

3 training. 

4 (B) TIMING.—The training under para5 graph (1) shall be provided— 

6 (i) as soon as reasonably practicable; 

7 and 

8 (ii) with respect to an individual who 

9 begins employment, or becomes affiliated 

10 or associated, with a covered financial in11 stitution after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, not later than 1 year after the 

13 date on which the individual becomes em14 ployed by, or affiliated or associated with, 

15 the covered financial institution in a posi16 tion described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

17 (C) of paragraph (1). 

18 (C) RECORDS.—A covered financial insti19 tution shall— 

20 (i) maintain a record of each indi21 vidual who— 

22 (I) is employed by, or affiliated 

23 or associated with, the covered finan24 cial institution in a position described 
116 

†S 2155 ES

1 in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 

2 paragraph (1); and 

3 (II) has completed the training 

4 under paragraph (1), regardless of 

5 whether the training was— 

6 (aa) provided by the covered 

7 financial institution or a third 

8 party selected by the covered fi9 nancial institution; 

10 (bb) completed before the in11 dividual was employed by, or af12 filiated or associated with, the 

13 covered financial institution; and 

14 (cc) completed before, on, or 

15 after the date of enactment of 

16 this Act; and 

17 (ii) upon request, provide a record de18 scribed in clause (i) to a covered agency 

19 with examination authority over the cov20 ered financial institution. 

21 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—Nothing in this 

22 section shall be construed to preempt or limit any provi23 sion of State law, except only to the extent that subsection 

24 (a) provides a greater level of protection against liability 

25 to an individual described in subsection (a)(2)(A) or to 
117 

†S 2155 ES

1 a covered financial institution described in subsection 

2 (a)(2)(B) than is provided under State law. 

3 SEC. 304. RESTORATION OF THE PROTECTING TENANTS AT 

4 FORECLOSURE ACT OF 2009. 

5 (a) REPEAL OF SUNSET PROVISION.—Section 704 of 

6 the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (12 

7 U.S.C. 5201 note; 12 U.S.C. 5220 note; 42 U.S.C. 1437f 

8 note) is repealed. 

9 (b) RESTORATION.—Sections 701 through 703 of the 

10 Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, the provi11 sions of law amended by such sections, and any regula12 tions promulgated pursuant to such sections, as were in 

13 effect on December 30, 2014, are restored and revived. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall 

15 take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of 

16 enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 305. REMEDIATING LEAD AND ASBESTOS HAZARDS. 

18 Section 109(a)(1) of the Emergency Economic Sta19 bilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5219(a)(1)) is amended, 

20 in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘and to remediate 

21 lead and asbestos hazards in residential properties’’ before 

22 the period at the end. 

23 SEC. 306. FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 23 of the United States 

25 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437u) is amended— 
118 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘public housing and’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘the certificate and vouch4 er programs under section 8’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘sections 8 and 9’’; 

6 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF PRIOR REQUIRED PRO9 GRAMS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each public housing agen11 cy that was required to administer a local Family 

12 Self-Sufficiency program on the date of enactment of 

13 the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Con14 sumer Protection Act shall operate such local pro15 gram for, at a minimum, the number of families the 

16 agency was required to serve on the date of enact17 ment of such Act, subject only to the availability 

18 under appropriations Acts of sufficient amounts for 

19 housing assistance and the requirements of para20 graph (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION.—The number of families for 

22 which a public housing agency is required to operate 

23 such local program under paragraph (1) shall be de24 creased by 1 for each family from any supported 

25 rental housing program administered by such agency 
119 

†S 2155 ES

1 that, after October 21, 1998, fulfills its obligations 

2 under the contract of participation. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall not re4 quire a public housing agency to carry out a manda5 tory program for a period of time upon the request 

6 of the public housing agency and upon a determina7 tion by the Secretary that implementation is not fea8 sible because of local circumstances, which may in9 clude— 

10 ‘‘(A) lack of supportive services accessible 

11 to eligible families, which shall include insuffi12 cient availability of resources for programs 

13 under title I of the Workforce Investment Act 

14 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.); 

15 ‘‘(B) lack of funding for reasonable admin16 istrative costs; 

17 ‘‘(C) lack of cooperation by other units of 

18 State or local government; or 

19 ‘‘(D) any other circumstances that the Sec20 retary may consider appropriate.’’; 

21 (3) by striking subsection (i); 

22 (4) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), 

23 (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), 

24 and (i) respectively; 
120 

†S 2155 ES

1 (5) by inserting after subsection (b), as amend2 ed, the following: 

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE FAMILIES.—A family is eligible 

5 to participate in a local Family Self-Sufficiency pro6 gram under this section if— 

7 ‘‘(A) at least 1 household member seeks to 

8 become and remain employed in suitable em9 ployment or to increase earnings; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the household member receives direct 

11 assistance under section 8 or resides in a unit 

12 assisted under section 8 or 9. 

13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following enti14 ties are eligible to administer a local Family Self15 Sufficiency program under this section: 

16 ‘‘(A) A public housing agency admin17 istering housing assistance to or on behalf of an 

18 eligible family under section 8 or 9. 

19 ‘‘(B) The owner or sponsor of a multi20 family property receiving project-based rental 

21 assistance under section 8, in accordance with 

22 the requirements under subsection (l).’’; 

23 (6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 
121 

†S 2155 ES

1 (i) by striking ‘‘public housing agen2 cy’’ the first time it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

4 (ii) in the first sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘each leaseholder receiving assistance 

6 under the certificate and voucher programs 

7 of the public housing agency under section 

8 8 or residing in public housing adminis9 tered by the agency’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

10 household member of an eligible family’’; 

11 and 

12 (iii) by striking the third sentence and 

13 inserting the following: ‘‘Housing assist14 ance may not be terminated as a con15 sequence of either successful completion of 

16 the contract of participation or failure to 

17 complete such contract. A contract of par18 ticipation shall remain in effect until the 

19 participating family exits the Family Self20 Sufficiency program upon successful grad21 uation or expiration of the contract of par22 ticipation, or for other good cause.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) in the matter preceding subpara25 graph (A)— 
122 

†S 2155 ES

1 (I) in the first sentence— 

2 (aa) by striking ‘‘A local 

3 program under this section’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘An eligible entity’’; 

5 (bb) by striking ‘‘provide’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘coordinate’’; and 

7 (cc) by striking ‘‘to’’ and in8 serting ‘‘for’’; and 

9 (II) in the second sentence— 

10 (aa) by striking ‘‘provided 

11 during’’ and inserting ‘‘coordi12 nated for’’; 

13 (bb) by striking ‘‘under sec14 tion 8 or residing in public hous15 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘pursuant to 

16 section 8 or 9 and for the dura17 tion of the contract of participa18 tion’’; and 

19 (cc) by inserting ‘‘, but are 

20 not limited to’’ after ‘‘may in21 clude’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

23 ‘‘or attainment of a high school equiva24 lency certificate’’ after ‘‘high school’’; 

25 (iii) by striking subparagraph (G); 
123 

†S 2155 ES

1 (iv) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (E), (F), and (J) as subparagraphs (F), 

3 (G), and (K) respectively; 

4 (v) by inserting after subparagraph 

5 (D) the following: 

6 ‘‘(E) education in pursuit of a post-sec7 ondary degree or certification;’’; 

8 (vi) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 

9 ‘‘financial literacy, such as training in fi10 nancial management, financial coaching, 

11 and asset building, and’’ after ‘‘training 

12 in’’; 

13 (vii) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

15 (viii) by inserting after subparagraph 

16 (I) the following: 

17 ‘‘(J) homeownership education and assist18 ance; and’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (i) in the first sentence, by inserting 

21 ‘‘the first recertification of income after’’ 

22 after ‘‘not later than 5 years after’’; and 

23 (ii) in the second sentence— 
124 

†S 2155 ES

1 (I) by striking ‘‘public housing 

2 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible enti3 ty’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘of the agency’’; 

5 (D) by amending paragraph (4) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT.—The contract of participa8 tion shall require 1 household member of the partici9 pating family to seek and maintain suitable employ10 ment.’’; and 

11 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) NONPARTICIPATION.—Assistance under 

13 section 8 or 9 for a family that elects not to partici14 pate in a Family Self-Sufficiency program shall not 

15 be delayed by reason of such election.’’; 

16 (7) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘whose 

18 monthly adjusted income does not exceed 50 

19 percent’’ and all that follows through the period 

20 at the end of the third sentence and inserting 

21 ‘‘shall be calculated under the rental provisions 

22 of section 3 or section 8(o), as applicable.’’; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) by striking the first sentence and 

25 inserting the following: ‘‘For each partici-
125 

†S 2155 ES

1 pating family, an amount equal to any in2 crease in the amount of rent paid by the 

3 family in accordance with the provisions of 

4 section 3 or 8(o), as applicable, that is at5 tributable to increases in earned income by 

6 the participating family, shall be placed in 

7 an interest-bearing escrow account estab8 lished by the eligible entity on behalf of the 

9 participating family. Notwithstanding any 

10 other provision of law, an eligible entity 

11 may use funds it controls under section 8 

12 or 9 for purposes of making the escrow de13 posit for participating families assisted 

14 under, or residing in units assisted under, 

15 section 8 or 9, respectively, provided such 

16 funds are offset by the increase in the 

17 amount of rent paid by the participating 

18 family.’’; 

19 (ii) by striking the second sentence 

20 and inserting the following: ‘‘All Family 

21 Self-Sufficiency programs administered 

22 under this section shall include an escrow 

23 account.’’; 
126 

†S 2155 ES

1 (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

3 (d)’’; and 

4 (iv) in the last sentence— 

5 (I) by striking ‘‘A public housing 

6 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘An eligible en7 tity’’; and 

8 (II) by striking ‘‘the public hous9 ing agency’’ and inserting ‘‘such eligi10 ble entity’’; and 

11 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(3) FORFEITED ESCROW.—Any amount placed 

14 in an escrow account established by an eligible entity 

15 for a participating family as required under para16 graph (2), that exists after the end of a contract of 

17 participation by a household member of a partici18 pating family that does not qualify to receive the es19 crow, shall be used by the eligible entity for the ben20 efit of participating families in good standing.’’; 

21 (8) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by 

22 striking ‘‘, unless the income of the family equals or 

23 exceeds 80 percent of the median income of the area 

24 (as determined by the Secretary with adjustments 

25 for smaller and larger families)’’; 
127 

†S 2155 ES

1 (9) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘public housing agen4 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘the public housing 

6 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘such eligible enti7 ty’’; and 

8 (iii) by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘public housing agen12 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’ each 

13 place that term appears; 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘or the Job Opportu15 nities and Basic Skills Training Program 

16 under part F of title IV of the Social Secu17 rity Act’’; 

18 (iii) by inserting ‘‘primary, secondary, 

19 and post-secondary’’ after ‘‘public and pri20 vate’’; and 

21 (iv) in the second sentence, by insert22 ing ‘‘and tenants served by the program’’ 

23 after ‘‘the unit of general local govern24 ment’’; 

25 (10) in subsection (h), as so redesignated— 
128 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘public housing agen3 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘participating in the’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘carrying out a’’; and 

6 (iii) by striking ‘‘to the Secretary’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘public housing agen9 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘subsection (g)’’; 

12 (iii) by striking ‘‘residents of the pub13 lic housing’’ and inserting ‘‘the current 

14 and prospective participants of the pro15 gram’’; and 

16 (iv) by striking ‘‘or the Job Opportu17 nities and Basic Skills Training Program 

18 under part F of title IV of the Social Secu19 rity Act’’; and 

20 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (C)— 

22 (I) by striking ‘‘subsection 

23 (c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

24 (d)(2)’’; 
129 

†S 2155 ES

1 (II) by striking ‘‘provided to’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘coordinated on behalf 

3 of participating’’; 

4 (III) by inserting ‘‘direct’’ before 

5 ‘‘assistance’’; and 

6 (IV) by striking ‘‘the section 8 

7 and public housing programs’’ and in8 serting ‘‘sections 8 and 9’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (D)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘public housing 

13 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible enti14 ty’’; 

15 (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

16 ‘‘deliver’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinate’’; 

17 (iv) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

18 ‘‘the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills 

19 Training Program under part F of title IV 

20 of the Social Security Act and’’; and 

21 (v) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

22 ‘‘public housing or section 8 assistance’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘assistance under section 8 

24 or 9’’; 
130 

†S 2155 ES

1 (11) by amending subsection (i), as so redesig2 nated, to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY AWARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to appropriations, 

5 the Secretary shall establish a formula by which an6 nual funds shall be awarded or as otherwise deter7 mined by the Secretary for the costs incurred by an 

8 eligible entity in administering the Family Self-Suffi9 ciency program under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS.—The award 

11 established under paragraph (1) shall provide fund12 ing for family self-sufficiency coordinators as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) BASE AWARD.—An eligible entity 

14 serving 25 or more participants in the Family 

15 Self-Sufficiency program under this section is 

16 eligible to receive an award equal to the costs, 

17 as determined by the Secretary, of 1 full-time 

18 family self-sufficiency coordinator position. The 

19 Secretary may, by regulation or notice, deter20 mine the policy concerning the award for an eli21 gible entity serving fewer than 25 such partici22 pants, including providing prorated awards or 

23 allowing such entities to combine their pro24 grams under this section for purposes of em25 ploying a coordinator. 
131 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AWARD.—An eligible en2 tity that meets performance standards set by 

3 the Secretary is eligible to receive an additional 

4 award sufficient to cover the costs of filling an 

5 additional family self-sufficiency coordinator po6 sition if such entity has 75 or more partici7 pating families, and an additional coordinator 

8 for each additional 50 participating families, or 

9 such other ratio as may be established by the 

10 Secretary based on the award allocation evalua11 tion under subparagraph (E). 

12 ‘‘(C) STATE AND REGIONAL AGENCIES.— 

13 For purposes of calculating the award under 

14 this paragraph, each administratively distinct 

15 part of a State or regional eligible entity may 

16 be treated as a separate agency. 

17 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF CO18 ORDINATORS.—In determining whether an eligi19 ble entity meets a specific threshold for funding 

20 pursuant to this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

21 consider the number of participants enrolled by 

22 the eligible entity in its Family Self-Sufficiency 

23 program as well as other criteria determined by 

24 the Secretary. 
132 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(E) AWARD ALLOCATION EVALUATION.— 

2 The Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

3 evaluating the award allocation under this sub4 section, and make recommendations based on 

5 this evaluation and other related findings to 

6 modify such allocation, within 4 years after the 

7 date of enactment of the Economic Growth, 

8 Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection 

9 Act, and not less frequently than every 4 years 

10 thereafter. The report requirement under this 

11 subparagraph shall terminate after the Sec12 retary has submitted 2 such reports to Con13 gress. 

14 ‘‘(3) RENEWALS AND ALLOCATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Funds allocated by 

16 the Secretary under this subsection shall be al17 located in the following order of priority: 

18 ‘‘(i) FIRST PRIORITY.—Renewal of the 

19 full cost of all coordinators in the previous 

20 year at each eligible entity with an existing 

21 Family Self-Sufficiency program that 

22 meets applicable performance standards 

23 set by the Secretary. 
133 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) SECOND PRIORITY.—New or in2 cremental coordinator funding authorized 

3 under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—If the first priority, as 

5 described in subparagraph (A)(i), cannot be 

6 fully satisfied, the Secretary may prorate the 

7 funding for each eligible entity, as long as— 

8 ‘‘(i) each eligible entity that has re9 ceived funding for at least 1 part-time co10 ordinator in the prior fiscal year is pro11 vided sufficient funding for at least 1 part12 time coordinator as part of any such pro13 ration; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) each eligible entity that has re15 ceived funding for at least 1 full-time coor16 dinator in the prior fiscal year is provided 

17 sufficient funding for at least 1 full-time 

18 coordinator as part of any such proration. 

19 ‘‘(4) RECAPTURE OR OFFSET.—Any awards al20 located under this subsection by the Secretary in a 

21 fiscal year that have not been spent by the end of 

22 the subsequent fiscal year or such other time period 

23 as determined by the Secretary may be recaptured 

24 by the Secretary and shall be available for providing 

25 additional awards pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), or 
134 

†S 2155 ES

1 may be offset as determined by the Secretary. Funds 

2 appropriated pursuant to this section shall remain 

3 available for 3 years in order to facilitate the re-use 

4 of any recaptured funds for this purpose. 

5 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE REPORTING.—Programs 

6 under this section shall be required to report the 

7 number of families enrolled and graduated, the num8 ber of established escrow accounts and positive es9 crow balances, and any other information that the 

10 Secretary may require. Program performance shall 

11 be reviewed periodically as determined by the Sec12 retary. 

13 ‘‘(6) INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATION AND HIGH

14 PERFORMANCE.—The Secretary may reserve up to 5 

15 percent of the amounts made available under this 

16 subsection to provide support to or reward Family 

17 Self-Sufficiency programs based on the rate of suc18 cessful completion, increased earned income, or 

19 other factors as may be established by the Sec20 retary.’’; 

21 (12) in subsection (j)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘public housing agency’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘public housing’’ before 

25 ‘‘units’’; 
135 

†S 2155 ES

1 (C) by striking ‘‘in public housing projects 

2 administered by the agency’’; 

3 (D) by inserting ‘‘or coordination’’ after 

4 ‘‘provision’’; and 

5 (E) by striking the last sentence; 

6 (13) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘public hous7 ing agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entities’’; 

8 (14) by striking subsection (n); 

9 (15) by striking subsection (o); 

10 (16) by redesignating subsections (l) and (m) as 

11 subsections (m) and (n), respectively; 

12 (17) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(l) PROGRAMS FOR TENANTS IN PRIVATELY OWNED

15 PROPERTIES WITH PROJECT-BASED ASSISTANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY AVAILABILITY OF FSS PRO17 GRAM.—The owner of a privately owned property 

18 may voluntarily make a Family Self-Sufficiency pro19 gram available to the tenants of such property in ac20 cordance with procedures established by the Sec21 retary. Such procedures shall permit the owner to 

22 enter into a cooperative agreement with a local pub23 lic housing agency that administers a Family Self24 Sufficiency program or, at the owner’s option, oper25 ate a Family Self-Sufficiency program on its own or 
136 

†S 2155 ES

1 in partnership with another owner. An owner, who 

2 voluntarily makes a Family Self-Sufficiency program 

3 available pursuant to this subsection, may access 

4 funding from any residual receipt accounts for the 

5 property to hire a family self-sufficiency coordinator 

6 or coordinators for their program. 

7 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Any coopera8 tive agreement entered into pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1) shall require the public housing agency to open 

10 its Family Self-Sufficiency program waiting list to 

11 any eligible family residing in the owner’s property 

12 who resides in a unit assisted under project-based 

13 rental assistance. 

14 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF FAMILIES ASSISTED

15 UNDER THIS SUBSECTION.—A public housing agency 

16 that enters into a cooperative agreement pursuant to 

17 paragraph (1) may count any family participating in 

18 its Family Self-Sufficiency program as a result of 

19 such agreement as part of the calculation of the 

20 award under subsection (i). 

21 ‘‘(4) ESCROW.— 

22 ‘‘(A) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—A coop23 erative agreement entered into pursuant to 

24 paragraph (1) shall provide for the calculation 

25 and tracking of the escrow for participating 
137 

†S 2155 ES

1 residents and for the owner to make available, 

2 upon request of the public housing agency, es3 crow for participating residents, in accordance 

4 with paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (e), 

5 residing in units assisted under section 8. 

6 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION AND TRACKING BY

7 OWNER.—The owner of a privately owned prop8 erty who voluntarily makes a Family Self-Suffi9 ciency program available pursuant to paragraph 

10 (1) shall calculate and track the escrow for par11 ticipating residents and make escrow for par12 ticipating residents available in accordance with 

13 paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (e). 

14 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not 

15 apply to properties assisted under section 8(o)(13). 

16 ‘‘(6) SUSPENSION OF ENROLLMENT.—In any 

17 year, the Secretary may suspend the enrollment of 

18 new families in Family Self-Sufficiency programs 

19 under this subsection based on a determination that 

20 insufficient funding is available for this purpose.’’; 

21 (18) in subsection (m), as so redesignated— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

24 ‘‘Each public housing agency’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘Each eligible entity’’; 
138 

†S 2155 ES

1 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘The report shall include’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘The contents of the report shall include’’; 

4 and 

5 (iii) in subparagraph (D)— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘public housing 

7 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’; and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘local’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 

11 describing any additional research needs of the 

12 Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness of the 

13 program’’ after ‘‘under paragraph (1)’’; 

14 (19) in subsection (n), as so redesignated, by 

15 striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en19 tity’ means an entity that meets the requirements 

20 under subsection (c)(2) to administer a Family Self21 Sufficiency program under this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE FAMILY.—The term ‘eligible 

23 family’ means a family that meets the requirements 

24 under subsection (c)(1) to participate in the Family 

25 Self-Sufficiency program under this section. 
139 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATING FAMILY.—The term ‘par2 ticipating family’ means an eligible family that is 

3 participating in the Family Self-Sufficiency program 

4 under this section.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Not later than 360 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

7 Housing and Urban Development shall issue regulations 

8 to implement this section and any amendments made by 

9 this section, and this section and any amendments made 

10 by this section shall take effect upon such issuance. 

11 SEC. 307. PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY FINANC12 ING. 

13 Section 129C(b)(3) of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 1639c(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION OF UNDERWRITING

17 REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPERTY ASSESSED

18 CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING.— 

19 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara20 graph, the term ‘Property Assessed Clean 

21 Energy financing’ means financing to cover 

22 the costs of home improvements that re23 sults in a tax assessment on the real prop24 erty of the consumer. 
140 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) REGULATIONS.—The Bureau 

2 shall prescribe regulations that carry out 

3 the purposes of subsection (a) and apply 

4 section 130 with respect to violations 

5 under subsection (a) of this section with 

6 respect to Property Assessed Clean Energy 

7 financing, which shall account for the 

8 unique nature of Property Assessed Clean 

9 Energy financing. 

10 ‘‘(iii) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

11 AND CONSULTATION.—In prescribing the 

12 regulations under this subparagraph, the 

13 Bureau— 

14 ‘‘(I) may collect such information 

15 and data that the Bureau determines 

16 is necessary; and 

17 ‘‘(II) shall consult with State and 

18 local governments and bond-issuing 

19 authorities.’’. 

20 SEC. 308. GAO REPORT ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN21 CIES. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con23 sumer’’, ‘‘consumer report’’, and ‘‘consumer reporting 

24 agency’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

25 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a). 
141 

†S 2155 ES

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 the Committee on Banking, 

4 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa6 tives a comprehensive report that includes— 

7 (1) a review of the current legal and regulatory 

8 structure for consumer reporting agencies and an 

9 analysis of any gaps in that structure, including, in 

10 particular, the rulemaking, supervisory, and enforce11 ment authority of State and Federal agencies under 

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

13 seq.), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Public Law 

14 106–102; 113 Stat. 1338), and any other relevant 

15 statutes; 

16 (2) a review of the process by which consumers 

17 can appeal and expunge errors on their consumer re18 ports; 

19 (3) a review of the causes of consumer report20 ing errors; 

21 (4) a review of the responsibilities of data fur22 nishers to ensure that accurate information is ini23 tially reported to consumer reporting agencies and to 

24 ensure that such information continues to be accu25 rate; 
142 

†S 2155 ES

1 (5) a review of data security relating to con2 sumer reporting agencies and their efforts to safe3 guard consumer data; 

4 (6) a review of who has access to, and may use, 

5 consumer reports; 

6 (7) a review of who has control or ownership of 

7 a consumer’s credit data; 

8 (8) an analysis of— 

9 (A) which Federal and State regulatory 

10 agencies supervise and enforce laws relating to 

11 how consumer reporting agencies protect con12 sumer data; and 

13 (B) all laws relating to data security appli14 cable to consumer reporting agencies; and 

15 (9) recommendations to Congress on how to im16 prove the consumer reporting system, including leg17 islative, regulatory, and industry-specific rec18 ommendations. 

19 SEC. 309. PROTECTING VETERANS FROM PREDATORY 

20 LENDING. 

21 (a) PROTECTING VETERANS FROM PREDATORY

22 LENDING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 37 

24 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add25 ing at the end the following new section: 
143 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘§ 3709. Refinancing of housing loans 

2 ‘‘(a) FEE RECOUPMENT.—Except as provided in sub3 section (d) and notwithstanding section 3703 of this title 

4 or any other provision of law, a loan to a veteran for a 

5 purpose specified in section 3710 of this title that is being 

6 refinanced may not be guaranteed or insured under this 

7 chapter unless— 

8 ‘‘(1) the issuer of the refinanced loan provides 

9 the Secretary with a certification of the recoupment 

10 period for fees, closing costs, and any expenses 

11 (other than taxes, amounts held in escrow, and fees 

12 paid under this chapter) that would be incurred by 

13 the borrower in the refinancing of the loan; 

14 ‘‘(2) all of the fees and incurred costs are 

15 scheduled to be recouped on or before the date that 

16 is 36 months after the date of loan issuance; and 

17 ‘‘(3) the recoupment is calculated through lower 

18 regular monthly payments (other than taxes, 

19 amounts held in escrow, and fees paid under this 

20 chapter) as a result of the refinanced loan. 

21 ‘‘(b) NET TANGIBLE BENEFIT TEST.—Except as 

22 provided in subsection (d) and notwithstanding section 

23 3703 of this title or any other provision of law, a loan 

24 to a veteran for a purpose specified in section 3710 of 

25 this title that is refinanced may not be guaranteed or in26 sured under this chapter unless— 
144 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(1) the issuer of the refinanced loan provides 

2 the borrower with a net tangible benefit test; 

3 ‘‘(2) in a case in which the original loan had a 

4 fixed rate mortgage interest rate and the refinanced 

5 loan will have a fixed rate mortgage interest rate, 

6 the refinanced loan has a mortgage interest rate 

7 that is not less than 50 basis points less than the 

8 previous loan; 

9 ‘‘(3) in a case in which the original loan had a 

10 fixed rate mortgage interest rate and the refinanced 

11 loan will have an adjustable rate mortgage interest 

12 rate, the refinanced loan has a mortgage interest 

13 rate that is not less than 200 basis points less than 

14 the previous loan; and 

15 ‘‘(4) the lower interest rate is not produced 

16 solely from discount points, unless— 

17 ‘‘(A) such points are paid at closing; and 

18 ‘‘(B) such points are not added to the 

19 principal loan amount, unless— 

20 ‘‘(i) for discount point amounts that 

21 are less than or equal to one discount 

22 point, the resulting loan balance after any 

23 fees and expenses allows the property with 

24 respect to which the loan was issued to 
145 

†S 2155 ES

1 maintain a loan to value ratio of 100 per2 cent or less; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for discount point amounts that 

4 are greater than one discount point, the re5 sulting loan balance after any fees and ex6 penses allows the property with respect to 

7 which the loan was issued to maintain a 

8 loan to value ratio of 90 percent or less. 

9 ‘‘(c) LOAN SEASONING.—Except as provided in sub10 section (d) and notwithstanding section 3703 of this title 

11 or any other provision of law, a loan to a veteran for a 

12 purpose specified in section 3710 of this title that is refi13 nanced may not be guaranteed or insured under this chap14 ter until the date that is the later of— 

15 ‘‘(1) the date that is 210 days after the date on 

16 which the first monthly payment is made on the 

17 loan; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the date on which the sixth monthly pay19 ment is made on the loan. 

20 ‘‘(d) CASH-OUT REFINANCES.—(1) Subsections (a) 

21 through (c) shall not apply in a case of a loan refinancing 

22 in which the amount of the principal for the new loan to 

23 be guaranteed or insured under this chapter is larger than 

24 the payoff amount of the refinanced loan. 
146 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

2 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall promulgate 

3 such rules as the Secretary considers appropriate with re4 spect to refinancing described in paragraph (1) to ensure 

5 that such refinancing is in the financial interest of the 

6 borrower, including rules relating to recoupment, sea7 soning, and net tangible benefits.’’. 

8 (2) REGULATIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing any reg10 ulation to carry out section 3709 of title 38, 

11 United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 

12 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may waive the 

13 requirements of sections 551 through 559 of 

14 title 5, United States Code, if— 

15 (i) the Secretary determines that ur16 gent or compelling circumstances make 

17 compliance with such requirements imprac18 ticable or contrary to the public interest; 

19 (ii) the Secretary submits to the Com20 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

22 the House of Representatives, and pub23 lishes in the Federal Register, notice of 

24 such waiver, including a description of the 

25 determination made under clause (i); and 
147 

†S 2155 ES

1 (iii) a period of 10 days elapses fol2 lowing the notification under clause (ii). 

3 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—If a 

4 regulation prescribed pursuant to a waiver 

5 made under subparagraph (A) is in effect for a 

6 period exceeding 1 year, the Secretary shall 

7 provide the public an opportunity for notice and 

8 comment regarding such regulation. 

9 (C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

10 shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 (D) TERMINATION DATE.—The authorities 

13 under this paragraph shall terminate on the 

14 date that is 1 year after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. 

16 (3) REPORT ON CASH-OUT REFINANCES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

19 Secretary shall, in consultation with the Presi20 dent of the Ginnie Mae, submit to Congress a 

21 report on refinancing— 

22 (i) of loans— 

23 (I) made to veterans for purposes 

24 specified in section 3710 of title 38, 

25 United States Code; and 
148 

†S 2155 ES

1 (II) that were guaranteed or in2 sured under chapter 37 of such title; 

3 and 

4 (ii) in which the amount of the prin5 cipal for the new loan to be guaranteed or 

6 insured under such chapter is larger than 

7 the payoff amount of the refinanced loan. 

8 (B) CONTENTS.—The report required by 

9 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 

10 (i) An assessment of whether addi11 tional requirements, including a net tan12 gible benefit test, fee recoupment period, 

13 and loan seasoning requirement, are nec14 essary to ensure that the refinancing de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) is in the fi16 nancial interest of the borrower. 

17 (ii) Such recommendations as the Sec18 retary may have for additional legislative 

19 or administrative action to ensure that re20 financing described in subparagraph (A) is 

21 carried out in the financial interest of the 

22 borrower. 

23 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions at the beginning of chapter 37 of title 38, 

25 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
149 

†S 2155 ES

1 the item relating to section 3709 the following new 

2 item: 

‘‘3709. Refinancing of housing loans.’’. 

3 (b) LOAN SEASONING FOR GINNIE MAE MORTGAGE4 BACKED SECURITIES.—Section 306(g)(1) of the National 

5 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1721(g)(1)) is amended by insert6 ing ‘‘The Association may not guarantee the timely pay7 ment of principal and interest on a security that is backed 

8 by a mortgage insured or guaranteed under chapter 37 

9 of title 38, United States Code, and that was refinanced 

10 until the later of the date that is 210 days after the date 

11 on which the first monthly payment is made on the mort12 gage being refinanced and the date on which 6 full month13 ly payments have been made on the mortgage being refi14 nanced.’’ after ‘‘Act of 1992.’’. 

15 (c) REPORT ON LIQUIDITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

16 VETERANS AFFAIRS HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM.— 

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

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

19 Housing and Urban Development and the President 

20 of the Ginnie Mae shall submit to the appropriate 

21 committees of Congress a report on the liquidity of 

22 the housing loan program under chapter 37 of title 

23 38, United States Code, in the secondary mortgage 

24 market, which shall— 
150 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) assess the loans provided under that 

2 chapter that collateralize mortgage-backed secu3 rities that are guaranteed by Ginnie Mae; and 

4 (B) include recommendations for actions 

5 that Ginnie Mae should take to ensure that the 

6 liquidity of that housing loan program is main7 tained. 

8 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 (A) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of 

11 Congress’’ means— 

12 (i) the Committee on Veterans’ Af13 fairs and the Committee on Banking, 

14 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

15 and 

16 (ii) the Committee on Veterans’ Af17 fairs and the Committee on Financial 

18 Services of the House of Representatives. 

19 (B) GINNIE MAE.—The term ‘‘Ginnie 

20 Mae’’ means the Government National Mort21 gage Association. 

22 (d) ANNUAL REPORT ON DOCUMENT DISCLOSURE

23 AND CONSUMER EDUCATION.—Not less frequently than 

24 once each year, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

25 issue a publicly available report that— 
151 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) examines, with respect to loans provided to 

2 veterans under chapter 37 of title 38, United States 

3 Code— 

4 (A) the refinancing of fixed-rate mortgage 

5 loans to adjustable rate mortgage loans; 

6 (B) whether veterans are informed of the 

7 risks and disclosures associated with that refi8 nancing; and 

9 (C) whether advertising materials for that 

10 refinancing are clear and do not contain mis11 leading statements or assertions; and 

12 (2) includes findings based on any complaints 

13 received by veterans and on an ongoing assessment 

14 of the refinancing market by the Secretary. 

15 SEC. 310. CREDIT SCORE COMPETITION. 

16 (a) USE OF CREDIT SCORES BY FANNIE MAE IN

17 PURCHASING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES.—Section 

18 302(b) of the Federal National Mortgage Association 

19 Charter Act (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(7)(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

22 ‘‘(i) the term ‘credit score’ means a numerical 

23 value or a categorization created by a third party de24 rived from a statistical tool or modeling system used 

25 by a person who makes or arranges a loan to predict 
152 

†S 2155 ES

1 the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, including 

2 default; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘residential mortgage’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 302 of the Fed5 eral Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (12 

6 U.S.C. 1451). 

7 ‘‘(B) USE OF CREDIT SCORES.—The corporation 

8 shall condition purchase of a residential mortgage by the 

9 corporation under this subsection on the provision of a 

10 credit score for the borrower only if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the credit score is derived from any credit 

12 scoring model that has been validated and approved 

13 by the corporation under this paragraph; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the corporation provides for the use of the 

15 credit score by all of the automated underwriting 

16 systems of the corporation and any other procedures 

17 and systems used by the corporation to purchase 

18 residential mortgages that use a credit score. 

19 ‘‘(C) VALIDATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—The 

20 corporation shall establish a validation and approval proc21 ess for the use of credit score models, under which the 

22 corporation may not validate and approve a credit score 

23 model unless the credit score model— 

24 ‘‘(i) satisfies minimum requirements of integ25 rity, reliability, and accuracy; 
153 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) has a historical record of measuring and 

2 predicting default rates and other credit behaviors; 

3 ‘‘(iii) is consistent with the safe and sound op4 eration of the corporation; 

5 ‘‘(iv) complies with any standards and criteria 

6 established by the Director of the Federal Housing 

7 Finance Agency under section 1328(1) of the Fed8 eral Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and 

9 Soundness Act of 1992; and 

10 ‘‘(v) satisfies any other requirements, as deter11 mined by the corporation. 

12 ‘‘(D) REPLACEMENT OF CREDIT SCORE MODEL.— 

13 If the corporation has validated and approved 1 or more 

14 credit score models under subparagraph (C) and the cor15 poration validates and approves an additional credit score 

16 model, the corporation may determine that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the additional credit score model has re18 placed the credit score model or credit score models 

19 previously validated and approved; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the credit score model or credit score mod21 els previously validated and approved shall no longer 

22 be considered validated and approved for the pur23 poses of subparagraph (B). 

24 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Upon establishing the 

25 validation and approval process required under subpara-
154 

†S 2155 ES

1 graph (C), the corporation shall make publicly available 

2 a description of the validation and approval process. 

3 ‘‘(F) APPLICATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

4 the effective date of this paragraph, the corporation shall 

5 solicit applications from developers of credit scoring mod6 els for the validation and approval of those models under 

7 the process required under subparagraph (C). 

8 ‘‘(G) TIMEFRAME FOR DETERMINATION; NOTICE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The corporation shall make 

10 a determination with respect to any application sub11 mitted under subparagraph (F), and provide notice 

12 of that determination to the applicant, before a date 

13 established by the corporation that is not later than 

14 180 days after the date on which an application is 

15 submitted to the corporation. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSIONS.—The Director of the Fed17 eral Housing Finance Agency may authorize not 

18 more than 2 extensions of the date established under 

19 clause (i), each of which shall not exceed 30 days, 

20 upon a written request and a showing of good cause 

21 by the corporation. 

22 ‘‘(iii) STATUS NOTICE.—The corporation shall 

23 provide notice to an applicant regarding the status 

24 of an application submitted under subparagraph (F) 
155 

†S 2155 ES

1 not later than 60 days after the date on which the 

2 application was submitted to the corporation. 

3 ‘‘(iv) REASONS FOR DISAPPROVAL.—If an appli4 cation submitted under subparagraph (F) is dis5 approved, the corporation shall provide to the appli6 cant the reasons for the disapproval not later than 

7 30 days after a determination is made under this 

8 subparagraph. 

9 ‘‘(H) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR.—If the corporation 

10 elects to use a credit score model under this paragraph, 

11 the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall 

12 require the corporation to periodically review the valida13 tion and approval process required under subparagraph 

14 (C) as the Director determines necessary to ensure that 

15 the process remains appropriate and adequate and com16 plies with any standards and criteria established pursuant 

17 to section 1328(1) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi18 nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. 

19 ‘‘(I) EXTENSION.—If, as of the effective date of this 

20 paragraph, a credit score model has not been approved 

21 under subparagraph (C), the corporation may use a credit 

22 score model that was in use before the effective date of 

23 this paragraph, if necessary to prevent substantial market 

24 disruptions, until the earlier of— 
156 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(i) the date on which a credit score model is 

2 validated and approved under subparagraph (C); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 2 years after the effective 

4 date of this paragraph.’’. 

5 (b) USE OF CREDIT SCORES BY FREDDIE MAC IN

6 PURCHASING RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES.—Section 305 of 

7 the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act (12 

8 U.S.C. 1454) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

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

11 ‘credit score’ means a numerical value or a categorization 

12 created by a third party derived from a statistical tool or 

13 modeling system used by a person who makes or arranges 

14 a loan to predict the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, 

15 including default. 

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF CREDIT SCORES.—The Corporation 

17 shall condition purchase of a residential mortgage by the 

18 Corporation under this section on the provision of a credit 

19 score for the borrower only if— 

20 ‘‘(A) the credit score is derived from any credit 

21 scoring model that has been validated and approved 

22 by the Corporation under this subsection; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the Corporation provides for the use of the 

24 credit score by all of the automated underwriting 

25 systems of the Corporation and any other procedures 
157 

†S 2155 ES

1 and systems used by the Corporation to purchase 

2 residential mortgages that use a credit score. 

3 ‘‘(3) VALIDATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—The 

4 Corporation shall establish a validation and approval proc5 ess for the use of credit score models, under which the 

6 Corporation may not validate and approve a credit score 

7 model unless the credit score model— 

8 ‘‘(A) satisfies minimum requirements of integ9 rity, reliability, and accuracy; 

10 ‘‘(B) has a historical record of measuring and 

11 predicting default rates and other credit behaviors; 

12 ‘‘(C) is consistent with the safe and sound oper13 ation of the corporation; 

14 ‘‘(D) complies with any standards and criteria 

15 established by the Director of the Federal Housing 

16 Finance Agency under section 1328(1) of the Fed17 eral Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and 

18 Soundness Act of 1992; and 

19 ‘‘(E) satisfies any other requirements, as deter20 mined by the Corporation. 

21 ‘‘(4) REPLACEMENT OF CREDIT SCORE MODEL.—If 

22 the Corporation has validated and approved 1 or more 

23 credit score models under paragraph (3) and the Corpora24 tion validates and approves an additional credit score 

25 model, the Corporation may determine that— 
158 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(A) the additional credit score model has re2 placed the credit score model or credit score models 

3 previously validated and approved; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the credit score model or credit score mod5 els previously validated and approved shall no longer 

6 be considered validated and approved for the pur7 poses of paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Upon establishing the 

9 validation and approval process required under paragraph 

10 (3), the Corporation shall make publicly available a de11 scription of the validation and approval process. 

12 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 

13 effective date of this subsection, the Corporation shall so14 licit applications from developers of credit scoring models 

15 for the validation and approval of those models under the 

16 process required under paragraph (3). 

17 ‘‘(7) TIMEFRAME FOR DETERMINATION; NOTICE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

19 make a determination with respect to any applica20 tion submitted under paragraph (6), and provide no21 tice of that determination to the applicant, before a 

22 date established by the Corporation that is not later 

23 than 180 days after the date on which an applica24 tion is submitted to the Corporation. 
159 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—The Director of the Fed2 eral Housing Finance Agency may authorize not 

3 more than 2 extensions of the date established under 

4 subparagraph (A), each of which shall not exceed 30 

5 days, upon a written request and a showing of good 

6 cause by the Corporation. 

7 ‘‘(C) STATUS NOTICE.—The Corporation shall 

8 provide notice to an applicant regarding the status 

9 of an application submitted under paragraph (6) not 

10 later than 60 days after the date on which the appli11 cation was submitted to the Corporation. 

12 ‘‘(D) REASONS FOR DISAPPROVAL.—If an ap13 plication submitted under paragraph (6) is dis14 approved, the Corporation shall provide to the appli15 cant the reasons for the disapproval not later than 

16 30 days after a determination is made under this 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(8) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR.—If the Corporation 

19 elects to use a credit score under this subsection, the Di20 rector of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall re21 quire the Corporation to periodically review the validation 

22 and approval process required under paragraph (3) as the 

23 Director determines necessary to ensure that the process 

24 remains appropriate and adequate and complies with any 

25 standards and criteria established pursuant to section 
160 

†S 2155 ES

1 1328(1) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 

2 Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. 

3 ‘‘(9) EXTENSION.—If, as of the effective date of this 

4 subsection, a credit score model has not been approved 

5 under paragraph (3), the Corporation may use a credit 

6 score model that was in use before the effective date of 

7 this subsection, if necessary to prevent substantial market 

8 disruptions, until the earlier of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the date on which a credit score model is 

10 validated and approved under paragraph (3); or 

11 ‘‘(B) the date that is 2 years after the effective 

12 date of this subsection.’’. 

13 (c) AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR.—Subpart A of 

14 part 2 of subtitle A of the Federal Housing Enterprises 

15 Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 

16 4541 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1328. REGULATIONS FOR USE OF CREDIT SCORES. 

19 ‘‘The Director shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) by regulation, establish standards and cri21 teria for any process used by an enterprise to vali22 date and approve credit scoring models pursuant to 

23 section 302(b)(7) of the Federal National Mortgage 

24 Association Charter Act (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(7)) and 
161 

†S 2155 ES

1 section 305(d) of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 

2 Corporation Act (12 U.S.C. 1454(d)); and 

3 ‘‘(2) ensure that any credit scoring model that 

4 is validated and approved by an enterprise under 

5 section 302(b)(7) (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(7)) of the 

6 Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act 

7 or section 305(d) of the Federal Home Loan Mort8 gage Corporation Act (12 U.S.C. 1454(d)) meets the 

9 requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of section 

10 302(b)(7)(C) of the Federal National Mortgage As11 sociation Charter Act and subparagraphs (A), (B), 

12 and (C) of section 305(d)(3) of the Federal Home 

13 Loan Mortgage Corporation Act, respectively.’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date that 

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

17 SEC. 311. GAO REPORT ON PUERTO RICO FORECLOSURES. 

18 Not earlier than 1 year after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

21 Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Finan22 cial Services of the House of Representatives a report on 

23 foreclosures in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, includ24 ing— 
162 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) the rate of foreclosures in the Common2 wealth of Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane 

3 Maria; 

4 (2) the rate of return for housing developers in 

5 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico before and after 

6 Hurricane Maria; 

7 (3) the rate of delinquency in the Common8 wealth of Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane 

9 Maria; 

10 (4) the rate of homeownership in the Common11 wealth of Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane 

12 Maria; and 

13 (5) the rate of defaults on federally insured 

14 mortgages in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico be15 fore and after Hurricane Maria. 

16 SEC. 312. REPORT ON CHILDREN’S LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZ17 ARD PREVENTION AND ABATEMENT. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart20 ment of Housing and Urban Development; and 

21 (2) the term ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 3(b) of the United 

23 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 

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

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and 
163 

†S 2155 ES

1 Urban Development shall submit to Congress a report that 

2 includes— 

3 (1) an overview of existing policies and enforce4 ment of the Department, including public outreach, 

5 relating to lead-based paint hazard prevention and 

6 abatement; 

7 (2) recommendations and best practices for the 

8 Department, public housing agencies, and landlords 

9 for improving lead-based paint hazard prevention 

10 standards and Federal lead prevention and abate11 ment policies to protect the environmental health 

12 and safety of children, including within housing re13 ceiving assistance from or occupied by families re14 ceiving housing assistance from the Department; 

15 and 

16 (3) recommendations for legislation to improve 

17 lead-based paint hazard prevention and abatement. 

18 SEC. 313. FORECLOSURE RELIEF AND EXTENSION FOR 

19 SERVICEMEMBERS. 

20 Section 710(d) of the Honoring America’s Veterans 

21 and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 (Pub22 lic Law 112–154; 50 U.S.C. 3953 note) is amended by 

23 striking paragraphs (1) and (3). 
164 

†S 2155 ES

1 TITLE IV—TAILORING REGULA2 TIONS FOR CERTAIN BANK 

3 HOLDING COMPANIES 

4 SEC. 401. ENHANCED SUPERVISION AND PRUDENTIAL 

5 STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN BANK HOLDING 

6 COMPANIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 165 of the Financial Sta8 bility Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5365) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre11 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

16 ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 

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

18 ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘the ap19 plicable threshold’’; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(C) RISKS TO FINANCIAL STABILITY AND

23 SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS.—The Board of Gov24 ernors may by order or rule promulgated pursu25 ant to section 553 of title 5, United States 
165 

†S 2155 ES

1 Code, apply any prudential standard established 

2 under this section to any bank holding company 

3 or bank holding companies with total consoli4 dated assets equal to or greater than 

5 $100,000,000,000 to which the prudential 

6 standard does not otherwise apply provided that 

7 the Board of Governors— 

8 ‘‘(i) determines that application of the 

9 prudential standard is appropriate— 

10 ‘‘(I) to prevent or mitigate risks 

11 to the financial stability of the United 

12 States, as described in paragraph (1); 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(II) to promote the safety and 

15 soundness of the bank holding com16 pany or bank holding companies; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) takes into consideration the bank 

18 holding company’s or bank holding compa19 nies’ capital structure, riskiness, com20 plexity, financial activities (including finan21 cial activities of subsidiaries), size, and any 

22 other risk-related factors that the Board of 

23 Governors deems appropriate.’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 
166 

†S 2155 ES

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

2 ‘‘and credit exposure report’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting 

4 ‘‘, including credit exposure reports’’ before the 

5 semicolon at the end; 

6 (3) in subsection (d)(2), in the matter pre7 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘shall’’ and in8 serting ‘‘may’’; 

9 (4) in subsection (h)(2), by striking 

10 ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’ each place that term appears 

11 and inserting ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’; 

12 (5) in subsection (i)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’; 

15 and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘, adverse,’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (I) in the first sentence, by strik20 ing ‘‘semiannual’’ and inserting ‘‘peri21 odic’’; and 

22 (II) in the second sentence— 

23 (aa) by striking 

24 ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; and 
167 

†S 2155 ES

1 (bb) by striking ‘‘annual’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘periodic’’; and 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘3’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2’’; and 

6 (II) by striking ‘‘, adverse,’’; and 

7 (6) in subsection (j)(1), in the first sentence, by 

8 striking ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’. 

10 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub11 section (a) shall be construed to limit— 

12 (1) the authority of the Board of Governors of 

13 the Federal Reserve System, in prescribing pruden14 tial standards under section 165 of the Financial 

15 Stability Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5365) or any other 

16 law, to tailor or differentiate among companies on 

17 an individual basis or by category, taking into con18 sideration their capital structure, riskiness, com19 plexity, financial activities (including financial activi20 ties of their subsidiaries), size, and any other risk21 related factors that the Board of Governors deems 

22 appropriate; or 

23 (2) the supervisory, regulatory, or enforcement 

24 authority of an appropriate Federal banking agency 

25 to further the safe and sound operation of an insti-
168 

†S 2155 ES

1 tution under the supervision of the appropriate Fed2 eral banking agency. 

3 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) FINANCIAL STABILITY ACT OF 2010.—The 

5 Financial Stability Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5311 et 

6 seq.) is amended— 

7 (A) in section 115(a)(2)(B) (12 U.S.C. 

8 5325(a)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘the applicable threshold’’; 

10 (B) in section 116(a) (12 U.S.C. 5326(a)), 

11 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by strik12 ing ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; 

14 (C) in section 121(a) (12 U.S.C. 5331(a)), 

15 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by strik16 ing ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; 

18 (D) in section 155(d) (12 U.S.C. 5345(d)), 

19 by striking ‘‘50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; 

21 (E) in section 163(b) (12 U.S.C. 5363(b)), 

22 by striking ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ each place that 

23 term appears and inserting 

24 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’; and 
169 

†S 2155 ES

1 (F) in section 164 (12 U.S.C. 5364), by 

2 striking ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘$250,000,000,000’’. 

4 (2) FEDERAL RESERVE ACT.—The second sub5 section (s) (relating to assessments) of section 11 of 

6 the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248(s)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

10 ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘$100,000,000,000’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘$50,000,000,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$100,000,000,000’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) TAILORING ASSESSMENTS.—In collecting 

17 assessments, fees, or other charges under paragraph 

18 (1) from each company described in paragraph (2) 

19 with total consolidated assets of between 

20 $100,000,000,000 and $250,000,000,000, the Board 

21 shall adjust the amount charged to reflect any 

22 changes in supervisory and regulatory responsibil23 ities resulting from the Economic Growth, Regu24 latory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act with re25 spect to each such company.’’. 
170 

†S 2155 ES

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

4 shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

7 (1), the amendments made by this section shall take 

8 effect on the date of enactment of this Act with re9 spect to any bank holding company with total con10 solidated assets of less than $100,000,000,000. 

11 (3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—Before the effec12 tive date described in paragraph (1), the Board of 

13 Governors of the Federal Reserve System may by 

14 order exempt any bank holding company with total 

15 consolidated assets of less than $250,000,000,000 

16 from any prudential standard under section 165 of 

17 the Financial Stability Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 

18 5365). 

19 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

20 section shall be construed to prohibit the Board of 

21 Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 

22 issuing an order or rule making under section 

23 165(a)(2)(C) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 

24 (12 U.S.C. 5365(a)(2)(C)), as added by this section, 

25 before the effective date described in paragraph (1). 
171 

†S 2155 ES

1 (e) SUPERVISORY STRESS TEST.—Beginning on the 

2 effective date described in subsection (d)(1), the Board of 

3 Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall, on a peri4 odic basis, conduct supervisory stress tests of bank holding 

5 companies with total consolidated assets equal to or great6 er than $100,000,000,000 and total consolidated assets 

7 of less than $250,000,000,000 to evaluate whether such 

8 bank holding companies have the capital, on a total con9 solidated basis, necessary to absorb losses as a result of 

10 adverse economic conditions. 

11 (f) GLOBAL SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT BANK

12 HOLDING COMPANIES.—Any bank holding company, re13 gardless of asset size, that has been identified as a global 

14 systemically important BHC under section 217.402 of 

15 title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be considered 

16 a bank holding company with total consolidated assets 

17 equal to or greater than $250,000,000,000 with respect 

18 to the application of standards or requirements under— 

19 (1) this section; 

20 (2) sections 116(a), 121(a), 155(d), 163(b), 

21 164, and 165 of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 

22 (12 U.S.C. 5326(a), 5331(a), 5345(d), 5363(b), 

23 5364, 5365); and 
172 

†S 2155 ES

1 (3) paragraph (2)(A) of the second subsection 

2 (s) (relating to assessments) of section 11 of the 

3 Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248(s)(2)). 

4 (g) CLARIFICATION FOR FOREIGN BANKS.—Nothing 

5 in this section shall be construed to— 

6 (1) affect the legal effect of the final rule of the 

7 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

8 entitled ‘‘Enhanced Prudential Standards for Bank 

9 Holding Companies and Foreign Banking Organiza10 tions’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 17240 (March 27, 2014)) as 

11 applied to foreign banking organizations with total 

12 consolidated assets equal to or greater than 

13 $100,000,000,000; or 

14 (2) limit the authority of the Board of Gov15 ernors of the Federal Reserve System to require the 

16 establishment of an intermediate holding company 

17 under, implement enhanced prudential standards 

18 with respect to, or tailor the regulation of a foreign 

19 banking organization with total consolidated assets 

20 equal to or greater than $100,000,000,000. 

21 SEC. 402. SUPPLEMENTARY LEVERAGE RATIO FOR CUSTO22 DIAL BANKS. 

23 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘custo24 dial bank’’ means any depository institution holding com25 pany predominantly engaged in custody, safekeeping, and 
173 

†S 2155 ES

1 asset servicing activities, including any insured depository 

2 institution subsidiary of such a holding company. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

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

5 ‘‘central bank’’ means— 

6 (A) the Federal Reserve System; 

7 (B) the European Central Bank; and 

8 (C) central banks of member countries of 

9 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation 

10 and Development, if— 

11 (i) the member country has been as12 signed a zero percent risk weight under 

13 sections 3.32, 217.32, and 324.32 of title 

14 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

15 successor regulation; and 

16 (ii) the sovereign debt of such member 

17 country is not in default or has not been 

18 in default during the previous 5 years. 

19 (2) REGULATIONS.—The appropriate Federal 

20 banking agencies shall promulgate regulations to 

21 amend sections 3.10, 217.10, and 324.10 of title 12, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations, to specify that— 

23 (A) subject to subparagraph (B), funds of 

24 a custodial bank that are deposited with a cen25 tral bank shall not be taken into account when 
174 

†S 2155 ES

1 calculating the supplementary leverage ratio as 

2 applied to the custodial bank; and 

3 (B) with respect to the funds described in 

4 subparagraph (A), any amount that exceeds the 

5 total value of deposits of the custodial bank 

6 that are linked to fiduciary or custodial and 

7 safekeeping accounts shall be taken into ac8 count when calculating the supplementary lever9 age ratio as applied to the custodial bank. 

10 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub11 section (b) shall be construed to limit the authority of the 

12 appropriate Federal banking agencies to tailor or adjust 

13 the supplementary leverage ratio or any other leverage 

14 ratio for any company that is not a custodial bank. 

15 SEC. 403. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MUNICIPAL OBLIGA16 TIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 18 of the Federal Deposit 

18 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1828) is amended— 

19 (1) by moving subsection (z) so that it appears 

20 after subsection (y); and 

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

22 ‘‘(aa) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MUNICIPAL OBLIGA23 TIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
175 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘investment grade’, with re2 spect to an obligation, has the meaning given 

3 the term in section 1.2 of title 12, Code of Fed4 eral Regulations, or any successor thereto; 

5 ‘‘(B) the term ‘liquid and readily-market6 able’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 249.3 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, 

8 or any successor thereto; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the term ‘municipal obligation’ means 

10 an obligation of— 

11 ‘‘(i) a State or any political subdivi12 sion thereof; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) any agency or instrumentality of 

14 a State or any political subdivision thereof. 

15 ‘‘(2) MUNICIPAL OBLIGATIONS.—For purposes 

16 of the final rule entitled ‘Liquidity Coverage Ratio: 

17 Liquidity Risk Measurement Standards’ (79 Fed. 

18 Reg. 61439 (October 10, 2014)), the final rule enti19 tled ‘Liquidity Coverage Ratio: Treatment of U.S. 

20 Municipal Securities as High-Quality Liquid Assets’ 

21 (81 Fed. Reg. 21223 (April 11, 2016)), and any 

22 other regulation that incorporates a definition of the 

23 term ‘high-quality liquid asset’ or another substan24 tially similar term, the appropriate Federal banking 

25 agencies shall treat a municipal obligation as a high- 
176 

†S 2155 ES

1 quality liquid asset that is a level 2B liquid asset if 

2 that obligation is, as of the date of calculation— 

3 ‘‘(A) liquid and readily-marketable; and 

4 ‘‘(B) investment grade.’’. 

5 (b) AMENDMENT TO LIQUIDITY COVERAGE RATIO

6 REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor8 poration, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

9 System, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall amend 

10 the final rule entitled ‘‘Liquidity Coverage Ratio: Liquidity 

11 Risk Measurement Standards’’ (79 Fed. Reg. 61439 (Oc12 tober 10, 2014)) and the final rule entitled ‘‘Liquidity 

13 Coverage Ratio: Treatment of U.S. Municipal Securities 

14 as High-Quality Liquid Assets’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 21223 

15 (April 11, 2016)) to implement the amendments made by 

16 this section. 

17 TITLE V—ENCOURAGING 

18 CAPITAL FORMATION 

19 SEC. 501. NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE REGULATORY 

20 PARITY. 

21 Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 

22 U.S.C. 77r(b)(1)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking subparagraph (A); 

24 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 
177 

†S 2155 ES

1 (A) by inserting ‘‘a security designated as 

2 qualified for trading in the national market sys3 tem pursuant to section 11A(a)(2) of the Secu4 rities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78k– 

5 1(a)(2)) that is’’ before ‘‘listed’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘that has listing standards 

7 that the Commission determines by rule (on its 

8 own initiative or on the basis of a petition) are 

9 substantially similar to the listing standards ap10 plicable to securities described in subparagraph 

11 (A)’’; 

12 (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or (B)’’; 

13 and 

14 (4) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 

15 (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively. 

16 SEC. 502. SEC STUDY ON ALGORITHMIC TRADING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the staff of the Securi19 ties and Exchange Commission shall submit to the Com20 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the 

22 House of Representatives a report on the risks and bene23 fits of algorithmic trading in capital markets in the United 

24 States. 
178 

†S 2155 ES

1 (b) MATTERS REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED.—The 

2 matters covered by the report required by subsection (a) 

3 shall include the following: 

4 (1) An assessment of the effect of algorithmic 

5 trading in equity and debt markets in the United 

6 States on the provision of liquidity in stressed and 

7 normal market conditions. 

8 (2) An assessment of the benefits and risks to 

9 equity and debt markets in the United States by al10 gorithmic trading. 

11 (3) An analysis of whether the activity of algo12 rithmic trading and entities that engage in algo13 rithmic trading are subject to appropriate Federal 

14 supervision and regulation. 

15 (4) A recommendation of whether— 

16 (A) based on the analysis described in 

17 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), any changes 

18 should be made to regulations; and 

19 (B) the Securities and Exchange Commis20 sion needs additional legal authorities or re21 sources to effect the changes described in sub22 paragraph (A). 
179 

†S 2155 ES

1 SEC. 503. ANNUAL REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS 

2 FORUM ON CAPITAL FORMATION. 

3 Section 503 of the Small Business Investment Incen4 tive Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 80c–1) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(e) The Commission shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) review the findings and recommendations 

8 of the forum; and 

9 ‘‘(2) each time the forum submits a finding or 

10 recommendation to the Commission, promptly issue 

11 a public statement— 

12 ‘‘(A) assessing the finding or recommenda13 tion of the forum; and 

14 ‘‘(B) disclosing the action, if any, the Com15 mission intends to take with respect to the find16 ing or recommendation.’’. 

17 SEC. 504. SUPPORTING AMERICA’S INNOVATORS. 

18 Section 3(c)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 

19 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(1)) is amended— 

20 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

21 by inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of a qualifying venture 

22 capital fund, 250 persons)’’ after ‘‘one hundred per23 sons’’; and 

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

25 ‘‘(C)(i) The term ‘qualifying venture cap26 ital fund’ means a venture capital fund that has 
180 

†S 2155 ES

1 not more than $10,000,000 in aggregate capital 

2 contributions and uncalled committed capital, 

3 with such dollar amount to be indexed for infla4 tion once every 5 years by the Commission, be5 ginning from a measurement made by the Com6 mission on a date selected by the Commission, 

7 rounded to the nearest $1,000,000. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘venture capital fund’ has 

9 the meaning given the term in section 

10 275.203(l)–1 of title 17, Code of Federal Regu11 lations, or any successor regulation.’’. 

12 SEC. 505. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OVER13 PAYMENT CREDIT. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

15 (1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Securi16 ties and Exchange Commission; 

17 (2) the term ‘‘national securities association’’ 

18 means an association that is registered under section 

19 15A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

20 U.S.C. 78o–3); and 

21 (3) the term ‘‘national securities exchange’’ 

22 means an exchange that is registered as a national 

23 securities exchange under section 6 of the Securities 

24 Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78f). 
181 

†S 2155 ES

1 (b) CREDIT FOR OVERPAYMENT OF FEES.—Notwith2 standing section 31(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

3 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78ee(j)), and subject to subsection (c) 

4 of this section, if a national securities exchange or a na5 tional securities association has paid fees and assessments 

6 to the Commission in an amount that is more than the 

7 amount that the exchange or association was required to 

8 pay under section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 

9 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78ee) and, not later than 10 years after 

10 the date of such payment, the exchange or association in11 forms the Commission about the payment of such excess 

12 amount, the Commission shall offset future fees and as13 sessments due by that exchange or association in an 

14 amount that is equal to the difference between the amount 

15 that the exchange or association paid and the amount that 

16 the exchange or association was required to pay under 

17 such section 31. 

18 (c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (b) shall apply only 

19 to fees and assessments that a national securities ex20 change or a national securities association was required 

21 to pay to the Commission before the date of enactment 

22 of this Act. 

23 SEC. 506. U.S. TERRITORIES INVESTOR PROTECTION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a) of the Investment 

25 Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–6(a)) is amended— 
182 

†S 2155 ES

1 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 

2 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

3 (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND SAFE HARBOR.— 

5 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in 

6 paragraph (2), the amendment made by subsection 

7 (a) shall take effect on the date of enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (2) SAFE HARBOR.—With respect to a company 

10 that is exempt under section 6(a)(1) of the Invest11 ment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–6(a)(1)) 

12 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 

13 the amendment made by subsection (a) shall take ef14 fect on the date that is 3 years after the date of en15 actment of this Act. 

16 (3) EXTENSION OF SAFE HARBOR.—The Secu17 rities and Exchange Commission, by rule or regula18 tion upon its own motion, or by order upon applica19 tion, may conditionally or unconditionally, under sec20 tion 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 

21 (15 U.S.C. 80a–6(c)), further delay the effective 

22 date for a company described in paragraph (2) for 

23 a maximum of 3 years following the initial 3-year 

24 period if, before the end of the initial 3-year period, 

25 the Commission determines that such a rule, regula-
183 

†S 2155 ES

1 tion, motion, or order is necessary or appropriate in 

2 the public interest and for the protection of inves3 tors. 

4 SEC. 507. ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP. 

5 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission 

7 shall revise section 230.701(e) of title 17, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations, so as to increase from $5,000,000 to 

9 $10,000,000 the aggregate sales price or amount of secu10 rities sold during any consecutive 12-month period in ex11 cess of which the issuer is required under such section to 

12 deliver an additional disclosure to investors. The Commis13 sion shall index for inflation such aggregate sales price 

14 or amount every 5 years to reflect the change in the Con15 sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

16 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rounding to the nearest 

17 $1,000,000. 

18 SEC. 508. IMPROVING ACCESS TO CAPITAL. 

19 The Securities and Exchange Commission shall 

20 amend— 

21 (1) section 230.251 of title 17, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations, to remove the requirement that the 

23 issuer not be subject to section 13 or 15(d) of the 

24 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et 

25 seq.) immediately before the offering; and 
184 

†S 2155 ES

1 (2) section 230.257 of title 17, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, with respect to an offering described in 

3 section 230.251(a)(2) of title 17, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations, to deem any issuer that is subject to 

5 section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act 

6 of 1934 as having met the periodic and current re7 porting requirements of section 230.257 of title 17, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, if such issuer meets 

9 the reporting requirements of section 13 of the Se10 curities Exchange Act of 1934. 

11 SEC. 509. PARITY FOR CLOSED-END COMPANIES REGARD12 ING OFFERING AND PROXY RULES. 

13 (a) REVISION TO RULES.—Not later than the end of 

14 the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

15 this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall 

16 propose and, not later than 2 years after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission 

18 shall finalize any rules, as appropriate, to allow any closed19 end company, as defined in section 5(a)(2) of the Invest20 ment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–5), that is 

21 registered as an investment company under such Act, and 

22 is listed on a national securities exchange or that makes 

23 periodic repurchase offers pursuant to section 270.23c– 

24 3 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, to use the secu25 rities offering and proxy rules, subject to conditions the 
185 

†S 2155 ES

1 Commission determines appropriate, that are available to 

2 other issuers that are required to file reports under section 

3 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

4 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m; 78o(d)). Any action that the Com5 mission takes pursuant to this subsection shall consider 

6 the availability of information to investors, including what 

7 disclosures constitute adequate information to be des8 ignated as a ‘‘well-known seasoned issuer’’. 

9 (b) TREATMENT IF REVISIONS NOT COMPLETED IN

10 A TIMELY MANNER.—If the Commission fails to complete 

11 the revisions required by subsection (a) by the time re12 quired by such subsection, any registered closed-end com13 pany that is listed on a national securities exchange or 

14 that makes periodic repurchase offers pursuant to section 

15 270.23c–3 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, shall 

16 be deemed to be an eligible issuer under the final rule of 

17 the Commission titled ‘‘Securities Offering Reform’’ (70 

18 Fed. Reg. 44722; published August 3, 2005). 

19 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

20 (1) NO EFFECT ON RULE 482.—Nothing in this 

21 section or the amendments made by this section 

22 shall be construed to impair or limit in any way a 

23 registered closed-end company from using section 

24 230.482 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

25 distribute sales material. 
186 

†S 2155 ES

1 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in this sec2 tion to a section of title 17, Code of Federal Regula3 tions, or to any form or schedule means such rule, 

4 section, form, or schedule, or any successor to any 

5 such rule, section, form, or schedule. 

6 TITLE VI—PROTECTIONS FOR 

7 STUDENT BORROWERS 

8 SEC. 601. PROTECTIONS IN THE EVENT OF DEATH OR 

9 BANKRUPTCY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 140 of the Truth in Lend11 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1650) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

14 through (8) as paragraphs (2) through (9), re15 spectively; and 

16 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

17 so redesignated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘cosigner’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means any individual who is liable for 

20 the obligation of another without compensation, 

21 regardless of how designated in the contract or 

22 instrument with respect to that obligation, 

23 other than an obligation under a private edu24 cation loan extended to consolidate a con25 sumer’s pre-existing private education loans; 
187 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) includes any person the signature of 

2 which is requested as condition to grant credit 

3 or to forbear on collection; and 

4 ‘‘(C) does not include a spouse of an indi5 vidual described in subparagraph (A), the sig6 nature of whom is needed to perfect the secu7 rity interest in a loan.’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS RELATING TO BOR10 ROWER OR COSIGNER OF A PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON AUTOMATIC DEFAULT IN

12 CASE OF DEATH OR BANKRUPTCY OF NON-STUDENT

13 OBLIGOR.—With respect to a private education loan 

14 involving a student obligor and 1 or more cosigners, 

15 the creditor shall not declare a default or accelerate 

16 the debt against the student obligor on the sole basis 

17 of a bankruptcy or death of a cosigner. 

18 ‘‘(2) COSIGNER RELEASE IN CASE OF DEATH

19 OF BORROWER.— 

20 ‘‘(A) RELEASE OF COSIGNER.—The holder 

21 of a private education loan, when notified of the 

22 death of a student obligor, shall release within 

23 a reasonable timeframe any cosigner from the 

24 obligations of the cosigner under the private 

25 education loan. 
188 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF RELEASE.—A 

2 holder or servicer of a private education loan, 

3 as applicable, shall within a reasonable time4 frame notify any cosigners for the private edu5 cation loan if a cosigner is released from the 

6 obligations of the cosigner for the private edu7 cation loan under this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATION OF INDIVIDUAL TO ACT

9 ON BEHALF OF THE BORROWER.—Any lender 

10 that extends a private education loan shall pro11 vide the student obligor an option to designate 

12 an individual to have the legal authority to act 

13 on behalf of the student obligor with respect to 

14 the private education loan in the event of the 

15 death of the student obligor.’’. 

16 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub17 section (a) shall only apply to private education loan 

18 agreements entered into on or after the date that is 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 602. REHABILITATION OF PRIVATE EDUCATION 

21 LOANS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 623(a)(1) of the Fair 

23 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(1)) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 
189 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(E) REHABILITATION OF PRIVATE EDU2 CATION LOANS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of this section, a con5 sumer may request a financial institution 

6 to remove from a consumer report a re7 ported default regarding a private edu8 cation loan, and such information shall not 

9 be considered inaccurate, if— 

10 ‘‘(I) the financial institution 

11 chooses to offer a loan rehabilitation 

12 program which includes, without limi13 tation, a requirement of the consumer 

14 to make consecutive on-time monthly 

15 payments in a number that dem16 onstrates, in the assessment of the fi17 nancial institution offering the loan 

18 rehabilitation program, a renewed 

19 ability and willingness to repay the 

20 loan; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the requirements of the 

22 loan rehabilitation program described 

23 in subclause (I) are successfully met. 

24 ‘‘(ii) BANKING AGENCIES.— 
190 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a financial 

2 institution is supervised by a Federal 

3 banking agency, the financial institu4 tion shall seek written approval con5 cerning the terms and conditions of 

6 the loan rehabilitation program de7 scribed in clause (i) from the appro8 priate Federal banking agency. 

9 ‘‘(II) FEEDBACK.—An appro10 priate Federal banking agency shall 

11 provide feedback to a financial institu12 tion within 120 days of a request for 

13 approval under subclause (I). 

14 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A consumer 

16 may obtain the benefits available 

17 under this subsection with respect to 

18 rehabilitating a loan only 1 time per 

19 loan. 

20 ‘‘(II) RULE OF CONSTRUC21 TION.—Nothing in this subparagraph 

22 may be construed to require a finan23 cial institution to offer a loan rehabili24 tation program or to remove any re25 ported default from a consumer report 
191 

†S 2155 ES

1 as a consideration of a loan rehabilita2 tion program, except as described in 

3 clause (i). 

4 ‘‘(iv) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

5 this subparagraph— 

6 ‘‘(I) the term ‘appropriate Fed7 eral banking agency’ has the meaning 

8 given the term in section 3 of the 

9 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 

10 U.S.C. 1813); and 

11 ‘‘(II) the term ‘private education 

12 loan’ has the meaning given the term 

13 in section 140(a) of the Truth in 

14 Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)).’’. 

15 (b) GAO STUDY.— 

16 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall conduct a study, in consultation 

18 with the appropriate Federal banking agencies, re19 garding— 

20 (A) the implementation of subparagraph 

21 (E) of section 623(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Re22 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(1)) (re23 ferred to in this paragraph as ‘‘the provision’’), 

24 as added by subsection (a); 
192 

†S 2155 ES

1 (B) the estimated operational, compliance, 

2 and reporting costs associated with the require3 ments of the provision; 

4 (C) the effects of the requirements of the 

5 provision on the accuracy of credit reporting; 

6 (D) the risks to safety and soundness, if 

7 any, created by the loan rehabilitation programs 

8 described in the provision; and 

9 (E) a review of the effectiveness and im10 pact on the credit of participants in any loan 

11 rehabilitation programs described in the provi12 sion and whether such programs improved the 

13 ability of participants in the programs to access 

14 credit products. 

15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen17 eral of the United States shall submit to Congress 

18 a report that contains all findings and determina19 tions made in conducting the study required under 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 SEC. 603. BEST PRACTICES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FI22 NANCIAL LITERACY. 

23 Section 514(a) of the Financial Literacy and Edu24 cation Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9703(a)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 
193 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(3) BEST PRACTICES FOR TEACHING FINAN2 CIAL LITERACY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After soliciting public 

4 comments and consulting with and receiving 

5 input from relevant parties, including a diverse 

6 set of institutions of higher education and other 

7 parties, the Commission shall, by not later than 

8 1 year after the date of enactment of the Eco9 nomic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Con10 sumer Protection Act, establish best practices 

11 for institutions of higher education regarding 

12 methods to— 

13 ‘‘(i) teach financial literacy skills; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) provide useful and necessary in15 formation to assist students at institutions 

16 of higher education when making financial 

17 decisions related to student borrowing. 

18 ‘‘(B) BEST PRACTICES.—The best prac19 tices described in subparagraph (A) shall in20 clude the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) Methods to ensure that each stu22 dent has a clear sense of the student’s 

23 total borrowing obligations, including 

24 monthly payments, and repayment options. 
194 

†S 2155 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) The most effective ways to en2 gage students in financial literacy edu3 cation, including frequency and timing of 

4 communication with students. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Information on how to target 

6 different student populations, including 

7 part-time students, first-time students, and 

8 other nontraditional students. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Ways to clearly communicate the 

10 importance of graduating on a student’s 

11 ability to repay student loans. 

12 ‘‘(C) MAINTENANCE OF BEST PRAC13 TICES.—The Commission shall maintain and 

14 periodically update the best practices informa15 tion required under this paragraph and make 

16 the best practices available to the public. 

17 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

18 in this paragraph shall be construed to require 

19 an institution of higher education to adopt the 

20 best practices required under this paragraph.’’. 

Passed the Senate March 14, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2155 

AN ACT 

To promote economic growth, provide tailored reguand for other purposes. latory relief, and enhance consumer protections,