II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3621 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Received 

AN ACT 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to remove adverse 

information for certain defaulted or delinquent private 

education loan borrowers who demonstrate a history of 

loan repayment, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Credit 

3 Reporting Enhancement, Disclosure, Innovation, and 

4 Transparency Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘Comprehensive 

5 CREDIT Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Effective date. 

Sec. 5. Discretionary surplus fund. 

TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DISPUTE PROCESS 

Sec. 101. Dispute procedures and disclosures relating to reinvestigations. 

Sec. 102. Consumer awareness of dispute rights. 

Sec. 103. Maintenance of records by furnishers. 

Sec. 104. Duties of furnishers relating to dispute procedures, notices, and disclosures. 

Sec. 105. Right to appeal disputes relating to reinvestigations and investigations. 

Sec. 106. Revised consumer reports. 

Sec. 107. Indication of dispute by consumers and use of disputed information. 

Sec. 108. Accuracy and completeness report duties for consumer reporting 

agencies and furnishers. 

Sec. 109. Inclusion of public record data sources in consumer reports. 

Sec. 110. Injunctive relief for victims. 

TITLE II—FREE CREDIT SCORES FOR CONSUMERS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Consumer information on calculation of scores. 

Sec. 203. Disclosures relating to credit scores and educational credit scores. 

Sec. 204. Free credit score disclosures and consumer reports. 

Sec. 205. Provision of consumer reports and credit scores by private educational lenders. 

Sec. 206. Provision of consumer reports and credit scores by motor vehicle 

lenders or indirect auto lenders. 

Sec. 207. Provision of consumer reports and credit scores by residential mortgage lenders. 

TITLE III—STUDENT BORROWER CREDIT IMPROVEMENT ACT 

Sec. 301. Removal of adverse information for certain private education loan 

borrowers. 

Sec. 302. Private education loan definitions. 


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TITLE IV—CREDIT RESTORATION FOR VICTIMS OF PREDATORY 

ACTIVITIES AND UNFAIR CONSUMER REPORTING PRACTICES 

Sec. 401. Adverse credit information. 

Sec. 402. Expedited removal of fully paid or settled debt from consumer reports. 

Sec. 403. Medical debt collections. 

Sec. 404. Credit restoration for victims of predatory mortgage lending and servicing. 

Sec. 405. Credit restoration for certain private education loans borrowers. 

Sec. 406. Financial abuse prevention. 

Sec. 407. Prohibition of certain factors related to Federal credit restoration or 

rehabilitation. 

TITLE V—CLARITY IN CREDIT SCORE FORMATION 

Sec. 501. Consumer Bureau study and report to Congress on the impact of 

non-traditional data. 

Sec. 502. Consumer Bureau oversight of credit scoring models. 

Sec. 503. Review of changes to credit scoring models. 

TITLE VI—RESTRICTIONS ON CREDIT CHECKS FOR 

EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS 

Sec. 601. Prohibition on the use of credit information for most employment decisions. 

TITLE VII—PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND UNFAIR 

CONSUMER REPORTING PRACTICES 

Sec. 701. Prohibition on automatic renewals for promotional consumer reporting and credit scoring products and services. 

Sec. 702. Prohibition on misleading and deceptive marketing related to the provision of consumer reporting and credit scoring products and 

services. 

Sec. 703. Prohibition on excessive direct-to-consumer sales. 

Sec. 704. Fair access to consumer reporting and credit scoring disclosures for 

nonnative English speakers and the visually and hearing impaired. 

Sec. 705. Comparison shopping for loans without harm to credit standing. 

Sec. 706. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry. 

Sec. 707. Protection for certain consumers affected by a shutdown. 

TITLE VIII—PROTECTIONS AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, 

OR A RELATED CRIME 

Sec. 801. Identity theft report definition. 

Sec. 802. Amendment to protection for files and credit records of protected 

consumers. 

Sec. 803. Enhancement to fraud alert protections. 

Sec. 804. Amendment to security freezes for consumer reports. 

Sec. 805. Clarification of information to be included with agency disclosures. 

Sec. 806. Provides access to fraud records for victims. 

Sec. 807. Required Bureau to set procedures for reporting identity theft, fraud, 

and other related crime. 

Sec. 808. Establishes the right to free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for certain consumers. 


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Sec. 809. Ensures removal of inquiries resulting from identity theft, fraud, or 

other related crime from consumer reports. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 901. Definitions. 

Sec. 902. Technical correction related to risk-based pricing notices. 

Sec. 903. FCRA findings and purpose; voids certain contracts not in the public 

interest. 

Sec. 904. GAO study on the use of credit in housing determinations. 

Sec. 905. GAO study on the effects of credit scores impacted by a student borrower’s defaulted or delinquent private education loan. 

Sec. 906. GAO study on consumer reporting agency compliance with consent 

orders. 

Sec. 907. Protections for active duty uniformed consumer. 

Sec. 908. Positive credit reporting permitted. 

Sec. 909. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 910. Cybersecurity supervision and examination of large consumer reporting agencies. 

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) GENERAL FINDINGS ON CREDIT REPORT4 ING.— 

5 (A) Consumer reporting agencies 

6 (‘‘CRAs’’) are companies that collect, compile, 

7 and provide information about consumers in the 

8 form of consumer reports for certain permis9 sible statutory purposes under the Fair Credit 

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

11 (‘‘FCRA’’). The three largest CRAs in this 

12 country are Equifax, TransUnion, and 

13 Experian. These CRAs are referred to as na14 tionwide CRAs and the reports that they pre15 pare are commonly referred to as credit reports. 

16 Furnishers, such as creditors, lenders, and debt 

17 collection agencies, voluntarily submit informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 tion to CRAs about their accounts such as the 

2 total amount for each loan or credit limit for 

3 each credit card and the consumer’s payment 

4 history on these products. Reports also include 

5 identifying information about a consumer, such 

6 as their birthdate, previous mailing addresses, 

7 and current and previous employers. 

8 (B) In a December 2012 paper, ‘‘Key Di9 mensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Re10 porting System: A review for how the nation’s 

11 largest credit bureaus manage consumer data’’, 

12 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

13 (‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) noted that the three na14 tionwide CRAs maintain credit files on approxi15 mately 200 million adults and receive informa16 tion from about 10,000 furnishers. On a 

17 monthly basis, these furnishers provide infor18 mation on over 1.3 billion consumer credit ac19 counts or other trade lines. 

20 (C) The 10 largest institutions furnishing 

21 credit information to each of the nationwide 

22 CRAs account for more than half of all ac23 counts reflected in consumers’ credit files. 

24 (D) Consumer reports play an increasingly 

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1 sumers. Most creditors, for example, review 

2 these reports to make decisions about whether 

3 to extend credit to consumers and what terms 

4 and conditions to offer them. As such, informa5 tion contained in these reports affects whether 

6 a person is able to get a private education loan 

7 to pay for college costs, to secure a mortgage 

8 loan to buy a home, or to obtain a credit card, 

9 as well as the terms and conditions under which 

10 consumer credit products or services are offered 

11 to them. 

12 (E) Credit reports are also increasingly 

13 used for many noncredit decisions, including by 

14 landlords to determine whether to rent an 

15 apartment to a prospective tenant and by em16 ployers to decide whether to hire potential job 

17 applicants or to offer a promotion to existing 

18 employees. 

19 (F) CRAs have a statutory obligation to 

20 verify independently the accuracy and complete21 ness of information included on the reports that 

22 they provide. 

23 (G) The nationwide CRAs have failed to 

24 establish and follow reasonable procedures, as 

25 required by existing law, to establish the maxVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 imum level of accuracy of information contained 

2 on consumer reports. Given the repeated fail3 ures of these CRAs to comply with accuracy re4 quirements on their own, legislation is intended 

5 to provide them with detailed guidance improv6 ing the accuracy and completeness of informa7 tion contained in consumer reports, including 

8 procedures, policies, and practices that these 

9 CRAs should already be following to ensure full 

10 compliance with their existing obligations. 

11 (H) The presence of inaccurate or incom12 plete information on these reports can result in 

13 substantial financial and emotional harm to 

14 consumers. Credit reporting errors can lead to 

15 the loss of a new employment opportunity or a 

16 denial of a promotion in an existing job, stop 

17 someone from being able to access credit on fa18 vorable terms, prevent a person from obtaining 

19 rental housing, or even trigger mental distress. 

20 (I) Current industry practices impose an 

21 unfair burden of proof on consumers trying to 

22 fix errors on their reports. 

23 (J) Consumer reports containing inac24 curate or incomplete credit information also un25 dermine the ability of creditors and lenders to 


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1 effectively and accurately underwrite and price 

2 credit. 

3 (K) Recognizing that credit reporting af4 fects the lives of almost all consumers in this 

5 country and that the consequences of errors on 

6 a consumer report can be catastrophic for a 

7 consumer, the Consumer Bureau began accept8 ing consumer complaints about credit reporting 

9 in October 2012. 

10 (L) As of early December 2019, the Con11 sumer Bureau has handled approximately 

12 391,560 credit reporting complaints about the 

13 top three CRAs, making credit reporting con14 sistently in the top third most-complained-about 

15 subject matter on which the Consumer Bureau 

16 accepts consumer complaints. Incorrect infor17 mation in reports and frustrations about bur18 densome and time-consuming process to dis19 puting items is are consistently top reported 

20 concerns from consumers. 

21 (M) Other common types of credit report22 ing complaints submitted to the Consumer Bu23 reau related to the improper use of a report, 

24 trouble obtaining a report or credit score, 


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1 CRAs’ investigations, and credit monitoring or 

2 identity protection. 

3 (N) In the fall 2019 ‘‘Supervisory High4 lights’’, the Consumer Bureau noted that one or 

5 more of the largest CRAs continue to struggle 

6 to adequately oversee furnishers to ensure that 

7 they were adhering to the CRA’s vetting poli8 cies and to establish proper procedures to verify 

9 public record information. 

10 (O) According to the fall 2016 ‘‘Super11 visory Highlights’’, Consumer Bureau exam12 iners determined that one or more debt collec13 tors never investigated indirect disputes that 

14 lacked detail or were not accompanied by at15 tachments with relevant information from the 

16 consumer. Examiners also found that notifica17 tions sent to consumers about disputes consid18 ered frivolous failed to identify for the con19 sumers the type of material that they could pro20 vide in order for the debt collector to complete 

21 the investigation of the disputed item. 

22 (P) A February 2014 Consumer Bureau 

23 report titled ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint 

24 Snapshot’’ found that consumers are confused 

25 about the extent to which the nationwide CRAs 


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1 are required to provide them with validation 

2 and documentation of a debt that appears on 

3 their credit report. 

4 (Q) As evidence that the current system 

5 lacks sufficient market incentives for CRAs to 

6 develop more robust procedures to increase the 

7 accuracy and completeness of information on 

8 credit reports, litigation discovery documented 

9 by the National Consumer Law Center 

10 (‘‘NCLC’’), as part of a February 2019 report 

11 titled ‘‘Automated Injustice Redux: Ten Years 

12 after a Key Report, Consumers Are Still Frus13 trated Trying to Fix Credit Reporting Errors’’, 

14 showed that at least two of the three largest 

15 CRAs use quota systems to force employees to 

16 process disputes hastily and without the oppor17 tunity for conducting meaningful investigations. 

18 At least one nationwide CRA only allowed dis19 pute resolution staff 5 minutes to handle a con20 sumer’s call. Furthermore, these CRAs were 

21 found to have awarded bonuses for meeting 

22 quotas and punished those who didn’t meet pro23 duction numbers with probation. 

24 (R) Unlike most other business relation25 ships, where consumers can register their satisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 faction or unhappiness with a particular credit 

2 product or service simply by taking their busi3 ness elsewhere, consumers have no say in 

4 whether their information is included in the 

5 CRAs databases and limited legal remedies to 

6 hold the CRAs accountable for inaccuracies or 

7 poor service. 

8 (S) Accordingly, despite the existing statu9 tory mandate for CRAs to follow reasonable 

10 procedures to assure the maximum possible ac11 curacy of the information whenever they pre12 pare consumer reports, numerous studies, the 

13 high volume of consumer complaints submitted 

14 to the Consumer Bureau about incorrect infor15 mation on consumer reports, and supervisory 

16 activities by the Consumer Bureau demonstrate 

17 that CRAs continue to skirt their obligations 

18 under the law. 

19 (2) INCORRECT INFORMATION ON CONSUMER

20 REPORTS.— 

21 (A) Consumers are entitled to dispute er22 rors on their consumer reports with either the 

23 CRA, who issued the report, or directly with 

24 furnishers, who supplied the account informa25 tion to the CRA, and request that mistakes be 


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1 deleted or removed. Consumers, who believe an 

2 investigation has not correctly resolved their 

3 dispute, however, have few options, other than 

4 requesting that a statement about the dispute 

5 be included with their future reports. 

6 (B) CRAs have a statutory obligation 

7 under the FCRA to perform a reasonable inves8 tigation by conducting a substantive and 

9 searching inquiry when a consumer disputes an 

10 item on their report. In doing so, CRAs must 

11 conduct an independent review about the accu12 racy of any disputed item and cannot merely 

13 rely on a furnisher’s ‘‘rubber-stamp’’ 

14 verification of the integrity of the information 

15 they have provided to CRAs. 

16 (C) In ‘‘Report to Congress Under Section 

17 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Trans18 actions Act of 2003’’ released by the Federal 

19 Government in December 2012, found that 26 

20 percent of survey participants identified at least 

21 one potentially material error on their consumer 

22 reports, and 13 percent experienced a change in 

23 their credit score once the error was fixed. 

24 (D) Consumer Bureau examiners have 

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1 wide CRAs’ information collection. In the fall 

2 2019 ‘‘Supervisory Highlights’’, the Consumer 

3 Bureau noted continued weaknesses with CRAs’ 

4 methods and processes for assuring maximum 

5 possible accuracy in their reports. Examiners 

6 also found, with certain exceptions, no quality 

7 control policies and procedures in place to test 

8 consumer reports for accuracy. 

9 (E) In its ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint 

10 Snapshot’’ released in February 2014, the Con11 sumer Bureau found that consumers were un12 certain about the depth and validity of the in13 vestigations performed about a disputed item. 

14 Consumers also expressed frustration that, even 

15 though they provided supporting materials that 

16 they believed demonstrated the inaccuracy of 

17 the information provided by furnishers, errors 

18 continued to remain on their reports. 

19 (F) In the winter 2015 ‘‘Supervisory High20 lights’’ released in March 2015, the Consumer 

21 Bureau reported that one or more nationwide 

22 CRAs failed to adequately fulfill their dispute23 handling obligations, including by not for24 warding to furnishers all relevant information 

25 found in letters and supporting documents supVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 plied by consumers when they submitted dis2 putes failing to notify consumers that they had 

3 completed investigations, and not providing con4 sumers with the results of the CRAs’ reviews 

5 about their disputes. 

6 (G) Consumer Bureau examiners also 

7 noted in the fall 2016 ‘‘Supervisory Highlights’’ 

8 released in October 2016 that one or more enti9 ties failed to provide adequate guidance and 

10 training to staff about how to differentiate 

11 FCRA disputes from general customer inquir12 ies, complaints, or debt validation requests. 

13 Consumer Bureau supervisors also directed one 

14 or more entities to develop and implement rea15 sonable procedures to ensure that direct and in16 direct disputes are appropriately logged, cat17 egorized, and resolved. 

18 (H) Consumers’ increasing frustration 

19 about the difficulties of trying to fix credit re20 porting errors, evidenced through the volume of 

21 consumer complaints related to errors sub22 mitted to the Consumer Bureau, are also 

23 echoed in another Federal Government study 

24 issued in January 2015. In the ‘‘Report to Con25 gress under Section 319 for the Fair and AccuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 rate Credit Transactions Act of 2003’’, the 

2 study found that nearly 70 percent (84 people) 

3 of participants from a previous survey that had 

4 filed disputes with CRAs continued to believe 

5 that at least some of the disputed information 

6 remained inaccurate at the time of the follow7 up survey. Despite these views, 50 percent (42 

8 people) of the survey participants decided to 

9 just give up trying to fix the errors, with only 

10 45 percent (38 people) of them planning to con11 tinue to try to resolve their disputes. 

12 (I) The consistently high volume of con13 sumer complaints submitted to the Consumer 

14 Bureau about credit reporting errors, coupled 

15 with the largest CRAs’ repeated quality control 

16 weaknesses found by Consumer Bureau exam17 iners, show that the nationwide CRAs have 

18 failed to establish and follow reasonable proce19 dures to assure maximum accuracy of informa20 tion and to conduct independent investigations 

21 of consumers’ disputes. These ongoing problems 

22 demonstrate the need for legislation to— 

23 (i) enhance obligations on furnishers 

24 to substantiate information and require 

25 furnishers to keep records for the same 


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1 amount of time that adverse information 

2 about these accounts may appear on a per3 son’s consumer report; 

4 (ii) eliminate CRAs’ discretion to de5 termine the relevancy of materials provided 

6 by consumers to support their dispute 

7 claims by instead requiring them to pass 

8 all material onto furnishers and elimi9 nating CRA’s discretion to deem some dis10 putes frivolous or irrelevant when a con11 sumer resubmits a claim that they believe 

12 has been inadequately resolved; 

13 (iii) enhance educational content on 

14 CRAs’ websites to improve consumers’ un15 derstanding of the dispute process and to 

16 make it easier for all consumers to initiate 

17 claims, including by providing these disclo18 sures in other languages besides English; 

19 and 

20 (iv) create a new consumer right to 

21 appeal reviews by CRAs and furnishers of 

22 the initial disputes. 

23 (3) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

24 (A) Despite the fact that the FCRA cur25 rently provides implicit authority for injunctive 


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1 relief, consumers have been prevented from ex2 ercising this right against CRAs. Legislation 

3 explicitly clarifying this right is intended to un4 derscore congressional intent that injunctive re5 lief should be viewed as a remedy available to 

6 consumers. 

7 (B) Myriad findings by the courts, regu8 lators, consumers, and consumer advocates 

9 make clear that CRAs have failed to establish 

10 adequate standards for the accuracy and com11 pleteness of consumer reports, yet the nation12 wide CRAs have demonstrated little willingness 

13 to voluntarily retool their policies and proce14 dures to fix the problems. 

15 (C) Providing courts with explicit authority 

16 to issue injunctive relief, by telling the CRAs to 

17 remedy unlawful practices and procedures, 

18 would further CRAs’ mandate under the FCRA 

19 to assure the maximum possible accuracy and 

20 completeness of information contained on credit 

21 reports. 

22 (D) Absent explicit authority to issue in23 junctions, history suggests that the nationwide 

24 CRAs are likely to continue conducting business 

25 as usual in treating any monetary settlements 


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1 with individual consumers and fines imposed by 

2 State attorneys general and Federal regulators, 

3 simply as the ‘‘cost of doing business’’. 

4 (4) CREDIT SCORES.— 

5 (A) While nationwide CRAs are required 

6 by law to supply consumers with a free copy of 

7 their credit report annually, they can charge 

8 consumers to obtain a credit score disclosure. 

9 (B) Many consumers do not realize that 

10 they have more than just ‘‘one’’ credit score. 

11 Because the submission of credit information to 

12 CRAs is voluntary and not all furnishers submit 

13 information to every CRA, the information con14 tained in a report also varies among CRAs. As 

15 a result, the credit score generated by each 

16 CRA is also likely to vary, resulting in poten17 tially different credit decisions based on an 

18 evaluation of different credit reports obtained 

19 from different CRAs. 

20 (C) A February 2015 Consumer Bureau 

21 report titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Re22 ports and Scores’’ found that consumers had 

23 questions about what actions to take to improve 

24 their scores once they had seen them, sug25 gesting that additional disclosures and eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 cational content would be helpful to consumers. 

2 The Consumer Bureau found that consumers 

3 were confused by conflicting advice on how to 

4 improve their scores. 

5 (D) That report also noted that consumers 

6 found the process for obtaining consumer re7 ports and credit scores confusing. Consumers 

8 also were uncertain about whether, and under 

9 what circumstances, they could obtain a con10 sumer report for free. 

11 (5) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOANS.— 

12 (A) The Consumer Bureau’s October 2014 

13 report titled ‘‘Annual Report of the CFPB Stu14 dent Loan Ombudsman’’ noted many private 

15 education loan borrowers, who sought to nego16 tiate a modified repayment plan when they were 

17 experiencing a period of financial distress, were 

18 unable to get assistance from their loan holders, 

19 which often resulting in them defaulting on 

20 their loans. This pattern resembles the dif21 ficulty that a significant number of mortgage 

22 loan borrowers experienced when they sought to 

23 take responsible steps to work with their mort24 gage loan servicer to avoid foreclosure during 

25 the Great Recession. 


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1 (B) Although private student loan holders 

2 may allow a borrower to postpone payments 

3 while enrolled in school full-time, many limit 

4 this option to a certain time period, usually 48 

5 to 66 months. This limited time period may not 

6 be sufficient for those who need additional time 

7 to obtain their degree or who want to continue 

8 their education by pursing a graduate or profes9 sional degree. The Consumer Bureau found 

10 that borrowers who were unable to make pay11 ments often defaulted or had their accounts 

12 sent to collections before they were even able to 

13 graduate. 

14 (6) DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AT CERTAIN PRO15 PRIETARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND CAREER

16 EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 

17 (A) NCLC cited the proliferation of law 

18 enforcement actions against many for-profit 

19 schools in its June 2014 report, titled ‘‘Ensur20 ing Educational Integrity: 10 Steps to Improve 

21 State Oversight of For-profit Schools’’, to dem22 onstrate the pervasive problem in this sector of 

23 targeting low-income students with deceptive 

24 high-pressure sales techniques involving inflated 

25 job placement rates and misleading data on 


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1 graduate wages, and false representations about 

2 the transferability of credits and the employ3 ability of graduates in occupations that require 

4 licensure. Student loan borrowers at these 

5 schools may be left with nothing but worthless 

6 credentials and large debt. Those who default 

7 on their student loans face years with damaged 

8 credit that will adversely impact their ability to 

9 rent or buy homes, purchase cars, and find em10 ployment. 

11 (B) The closure and bankruptcy of Corin12 thian Colleges, which was found to have de13 ceived students by steering them into high-in14 terest student loans based on misleading grad15 uation rates and employment data, is a good 

16 example of the problem. Even after its closure, 

17 many Corinthian students remained saddled 

18 with student loan debt, worthless degrees, and 

19 few prospects for employment. 

20 (C) Attending a 2-year, for-profit college 

21 costs, on average, four times as much as at22 tending a community college. Students at for23 profit colleges represent only about 11 percent 

24 of the total higher education population but a 

25 startling 44 percent of all Federal student loan 


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1 defaults, according to the United States De2 partment of Education (‘‘DOE’’). 

3 (D) According to NCLC, a dispropor4 tionate number of for-profit students are low-in5 come and people of color. These schools target 

6 veterans, working parents, first-generation stu7 dents, and non-English speaking students, who 

8 may be more likely than their public or private 

9 nonprofit school counterparts to drop out, incur 

10 enormous student debt, and default on this 

11 debt. In the 2011–2012 school year, 28 percent 

12 of African Americans and 15 percent of Latinos 

13 attending 4-year institutions were enrolled in a 

14 for-profit school, compared to 10 percent of 

15 Whites. 

16 (E) As highlighted in a press release titled 

17 ‘‘Obama Administration Announces Final Rules 

18 to Protect Students from Poor-Performing Ca19 reer College Programs’’, that was issued by the 

20 DOE on October 30, 2014, ‘‘[t]oo often, stu21 dents at career colleges—including thousands of 

22 veterans—are charged excessive costs, but don’t 

23 get the education they paid for. Instead, stu24 dents in such programs are provided with poor 

25 quality training, often for low-wage jobs or in 


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1 occupations where there are simply no job op2 portunities. They find themselves with large 

3 amounts of debt and, too often, end up in de4 fault. In many cases, students are drawn into 

5 these programs with confusing or misleading in6 formation.’’. 

7 (7) MEDICAL DEBT.— 

8 (A) Research by the Consumer Bureau has 

9 found that the inclusion of medical collections 

10 on consumer reports has unfairly reduced con11 sumers’ credit scores. 

12 (B) The Consumer Bureau’s review of 5 

13 million anonymized credit files from September 

14 2011 to September 2013, for example, found 

15 that credit scores may underestimate a person’s 

16 creditworthiness by up to 10 points for those 

17 who owe medical debt, and may underestimate 

18 a person’s creditworthiness by up to 22 points 

19 after the medical debt has been paid. For con20 sumers with lower credit scores, especially those 

21 on the brink of what is considered subprime, a 

22 10 to 22 point decrease in their credit scores 

23 can have a significant impact on their lives, in24 cluding by affecting whether they are able to 


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1 qualify for credit and, if so, the terms and con2 ditions under which it is extended to them. 

3 (C) The Consumer Bureau found that half 

4 of all collections trade lines that appear on con5 sumer reports are related to medical bills 

6 claimed to be owed to hospitals and other med7 ical providers. These trade lines affect the re8 ports of nearly one-fifth of all consumers in the 

9 credit reporting system. 

10 (D) The Consumer Bureau has found that 

11 there are no objective or enforceable standards 

12 that determine when a debt can or should be 

13 reported as a collection trade line. Because debt 

14 buyers and collectors determine whether, when, 

15 and for how long to report a collection account, 

16 there is only a limited relationship between the 

17 time period reported, the severity of a delin18 quency, and when or whether a collection trade 

19 line appears on a consumer’s credit report. 

20 (E) Medical bills can be complex and con21 fusing for many consumers, which results in 

22 consumers’ uncertainty about what they owe, to 

23 whom, when, or for what, that may cause some 

24 people, who ordinarily pay their bills on time, to 

25 delay or withhold payments on their medical 


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1 debts. This uncertainty can also result in med2 ical collections appearing on consumer reports. 

3 In a December 2014 report titled ‘‘Consumer 

4 Credit Reports: A Study of Medical and Non5 Medical Collections’’, the Consumer Bureau 

6 found that a large portion of consumers with 

7 medical collections show no other evidence of fi8 nancial distress and are consumers who ordi9 narily pay their other financial obligations on 

10 time. Unlike with most credit products or serv11 ices, such as credit cards, installment loans, 

12 utilities, or wireless or cable services that have 

13 contractual account disclosures describing the 

14 terms and conditions of use, most consumers 

15 are not told what their out-of-pocket medical 

16 costs will be in advance. Consumers needing ur17 gent or emergency care rarely know, or are pro18 vided, the cost of a medical treatment or proce19 dure before the service is rendered. 

20 (F) The Consumer Bureau concluded that 

21 the presence of medical collections is less pre22 dictive of future defaults or serious delin23 quencies than the presence of a nonmedical col24 lection in a study titled ‘‘Data Point: Medical 

25 Debt and Credit Scores’’, issued in May 2014. 


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1 (G) FICO’s latest credit scoring model, 

2 ‘‘FICO 9’’, changes the treatment of paid col3 lections to disregard any collection matters that 

4 the consumer has paid in full. FICO 9, how5 ever, is not yet widely used by lenders. 

6 (H) VantageScore’s latest credit scoring 

7 model, ‘‘VantageScore 4.0’’, will be available in 

8 the fall of 2017. This model will penalize med9 ical collections less than non-medical ones. 

10 (I) The three nationwide CRAs entered 

11 into a settlement agreement with the New York 

12 State attorney general in 2015 to address defi13 ciencies in their dispute resolution process and 

14 enhance the accuracy of items on reports. These 

15 policy changes will be implemented in a three16 phased rollout, culminating by June 2018. Sub17 sequently, these CRAs entered into a coopera18 tive agreement with 31 State Attorneys Gen19 eral, which was the basis of the creation of the 

20 National Consumer Assistance Plan (‘‘NCAP’’) 

21 to change some of their business practices. 

22 (J) While the CRAs appear to be volun23 tarily adopting policy changes on a nationwide 

24 basis, they are not obligated to do so for conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 sumers who reside in States that are not party 

2 to any of the consent orders. 

3 (K) As a result of the settlement agree4 ments, the three nationwide CRAs will set a 

5 180-day waiting period before including medical 

6 collections on a report and will remove a med7 ical collection from a report once it is paid by 

8 an insurance company. While this change will 

9 benefit many, once a medical collection appears 

10 on a report, it will only be deleted or suppressed 

11 if it is found to have been the insurance com12 pany’s obligation to pay and the insurer pays it. 

13 Given the research showing there is little pre14 dictive value in medical debt information, med15 ical collections that are paid or settled should 

16 quickly be removed from a report, regardless of 

17 who pays or settles this debt. 

18 (8) FINANCIAL ABUSE BY KNOWN PERSONS.— 

19 (A) Financial abuse and exploitation are 

20 frequently associated with domestic violence. 

21 This type of abuse may result in fraudulent 

22 charges to a credit card or having fraudulent 

23 accounts created by the abuser in the survivor’s 

24 name that could affect ratings by CRAs. Finan25 cial abuse may also result in the survivor’s inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 ability to make timely payments on their valid 

2 obligations due to loss or changes in income 

3 that can occur when their abuser steals from or 

4 coerces the survivor to relinquish their pay5 checks or savings that could affect ratings by 

6 CRAs. 

7 (B) By racking up substantial debts in the 

8 survivor’s name, abusers are able to exercise fi9 nancial control over their survivors to make it 

10 economically difficult for the survivor, whose 

11 credit is often destroyed, to escape the situa12 tion. 

13 (C) Domestic abuse survivors with poor 

14 credit are likely to face significant obstacles in 

15 establishing financial independence from their 

16 abusers. This can be due, in part, because con17 sumer reports may be used when a person at18 tempts to obtain a checking account, housing, 

19 insurance, utilities, employment, and even a se20 curity clearance as required for certain jobs. 

21 (D) Providing documentation of identity 

22 (‘‘ID’’) theft in order to dispute information on 

23 one’s consumer report can be particularly chal24 lenging for those who know their financial 

25 abuser. 


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1 (E) While it is easier for consumers who 

2 obtain a police report to remove fraudulent in3 formation from their consumer report and pre4 vent it from reappearing in the future, accord5 ing to the Empire Justice Center, safety and 

6 other noncredit concerns may impact the capac7 ity of a survivor of financial abuse committed 

8 by a known person to turn to law enforcement 

9 to get a police report. 

10 (F) According to the Legal Aid Society in 

11 New York, domestic abuse survivors, seeking to 

12 remove adverse information stemming from fi13 nancial abuse by contacting their furnishers di14 rectly, are likely to face skepticism about claims 

15 of ID theft perpetrated by a partner because of 

16 an assumption that they are aware of, and may 

17 have been complicit in, the activity which the 

18 survivor alleges stems from financial abuse. 

19 (9) DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING MARKETING

20 PRACTICES.— 

21 (A) The Consumer Bureau’s February 

22 2015 report titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit 

23 Reports and Scores’’ found that some con24 sumers did not obtain a copy of their consumer 

25 report due to concerns about security or of 


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1 being trapped into purchasing unwanted prod2 ucts like an additional report or a credit moni3 toring service. 

4 (B) In January 2017, the Consumer Bu5 reau fined TransUnion and Equifax for decep6 tively marketing credit scores for purchase by 

7 consumers as the same credit scores typically 

8 used by lenders to determine creditworthiness 

9 and for luring consumers into costly subscrip10 tion services that were advertised as ‘‘free’’ or 

11 ‘‘$1’’ that automatically charged recurring fees 

12 unless cancelled by consumers. The Consumer 

13 Bureau also found that Equifax was illegally 

14 advertising its products on webpages that con15 sumers accessed through 

16 AnnualCreditReport.com before consumers ob17 tained their free disclosures. Because of these 

18 troubling practices, TransUnion was ordered to 

19 pay $13.9 million in restitution to harmed con20 sumers and a civil penalty of $3 million to the 

21 Consumer Bureau. Equifax was ordered to pay 

22 more than $3.7 million to affected consumers 

23 as well as a civil money penalty of $2.5 million 

24 to the Consumer Bureau. As part of the con25 sent orders, the CRAs are also supposed to 


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1 change the way that they sell their products to 

2 consumers. The CRAs must also obtain con3 sumers’ express consent before enrolling them 

4 into subscription services as well as make it 

5 easer for consumers to cancel these programs. 

6 (C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other 

7 nationwide CRA—Experian—in March 2017 

8 for deceiving consumers about the use of credit 

9 scores that it marketed and sold to consumers 

10 as credit scores that were used by lenders and 

11 for illegally advertising its products on web 

12 pages that consumers accessed through 

13 AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained 

14 their free annual disclosures. Experian was or15 dered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitu16 tion to harmed consumers and a civil monetary 

17 penalty of $2.5 million to the Consumer Bu18 reau. 

19 (D) The Consumer Bureau’s January and 

20 March 2017 consent orders with the three na21 tionwide CRAs show that these CRAs have en22 ticed consumers into purchasing products and 

23 services that they may not want or need, in 

24 some instances by advertising products or serv25 ices ‘‘free’’ that automatically converted into an 


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1 ongoing subscription service at the regular price 

2 unless cancelled by the consumer. Although 

3 these CRAs must now change their deceptive 

4 marketing practices, codifying these duties is an 

5 appropriate way to ensure that these companies 

6 never revert back to such misleading tactics. 

7 (E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer 

8 reports in consumers’ lives and the fact that 

9 consumers’ participation in the credit reporting 

10 system is involuntary, CRAs should also 

11 prioritize providing consumers with the effective 

12 means to safeguard their personal and financial 

13 information and improve their credit standing, 

14 rather than seeking to exploit consumers’ con15 cerns and confusion about credit reporting and 

16 scoring, to boost their companies’ profits. 

17 (F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legiti18 mate concerns about the security of their per19 sonal and financial information, deserve clear, 

20 accurate, and transparent information about 

21 the credit reporting tools that may be available 

22 to them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. 

23 (10) CLARITY IN CREDIT SCORING.— 

24 (A) The February 2015 report of the Bu25 reau of Consumer Financial Protection titled 


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1 ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Reports and 

2 Scores’’ found that some consumers are reluc3 tant to comparison shop for loans and other 

4 types of consumer credit products out of fear 

5 that they will lower their credit scores by doing 

6 so. 

7 (B) The Consumer Bureau found that one 

8 of the most common barriers for people in re9 viewing their own credit reports and shopping 

10 for the best credit terms was a lack of under11 standing of the differences between ‘‘soft’’ and 

12 ‘‘hard’’ inquiries and whether requesting a copy 

13 of their own report would adversely impact their 

14 credit standing. 

15 (C) The Bureau of Consumer Financial 

16 Protection revealed that consumers with accu17 rate perceptions of their creditworthiness may 

18 be better equipped to shop for favorable credit 

19 terms. 

20 (11) CREDIT CHECKS AND EMPLOYMENT DECI21 SIONS.— 

22 (A) The use of consumer reports as a fac23 tor in making hiring decisions has been found 

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1 tions, and is not limited to certain high-level 

2 management or executive positions. 

3 (B) According to the California Labor 

4 Federation, only 25 percent of employers re5 searched the credit history of job applicants in 

6 1998. However, this practice had increased to 

7 43 percent by 2006 and to 60 percent by 2011. 

8 (C) A study titled ‘‘Do Job Applicant 

9 Credit Histories Predict Job Performance Ap10 praisal Ratings or Termination Decisions?’’, 

11 published in 2012, found that, while credit his12 tory might conceptually measure a person’s 

13 level of responsibility, ability to meet deadlines, 

14 dependability, or integrity, it does not, in prac15 tice, actually predict an employee’s performance 

16 or likelihood to quit. Credit reports contain 

17 many inaccuracies and credit history can be 

18 contaminated by events that are sometimes out19 side a person’s control, such as a sudden med20 ical expense after an accident or the loss of a 

21 job during an economic downturn. The study 

22 found that there is no benefit from using credit 

23 history to predict job performance or turnover. 

24 (D) Despite the absence of data showing a 

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1 worthiness, employers continue to use credit 

2 checks as a proxy for assessing character and 

3 integrity. According to a 2012 Society for 

4 Human Resource Management survey, organi5 zations indicated that they used credit checks 

6 on job candidates primarily to reduce or prevent 

7 theft and embezzlement and to minimize legal 

8 liability for negligent hiring. 

9 (E) The use of credit checks for employ10 ment purposes creates a true ‘‘catch-22’’ for 

11 unemployed people with impaired credit. For 

12 example, the financial hardship caused by losing 

13 a job may cause some unemployed individuals 

14 to make late or partial payments on their bills, 

15 but their poor credit standing caused by this 

16 negative information on their consumer report 

17 can also impede their chances of obtaining a 

18 new job to end their financial distress. 

19 (F) A September 2014 report by the New 

20 York City Council’s Committee on Civil Rights 

21 noted that, for those who have been unemployed 

22 for an extended period of time and whose credit 

23 has suffered as they fell behind on bills, the use 

24 of credit reports in the hiring process can exacVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 erbate and perpetuate an already precarious sit2 uation. 

3 (G) In a March 2013 Demos report titled 

4 ‘‘Discredited: How Employment Credit Checks 

5 Keep Out Qualified Workers Out of a Job’’, one 

6 in four survey participants who were unem7 ployed said that a potential employer had re8 quested to check their credit report as part of 

9 a job application. Among job applicants with 

10 blemished credit histories in the survey, one in 

11 seven had been told that they were not being 

12 hired because of their credit history. 

13 (H) While job applicants must give prior 

14 approval for a prospective employer to pull their 

15 credit reports under the FCRA, this authoriza16 tion, as a practical matter, does not constitute 

17 an effective consumer protection because an 

18 employer may reject any job applicant who re19 fuses a credit check. 

20 (I) Some negative information on a report 

21 may stem from uncontrollable circumstances, or 

22 significant life events in a consumer’s life, such 

23 as a medical crisis or a divorce. Demos found 

24 that poor credit is associated with household 

25 unemployment, lack of health coverage, and 


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1 medical debt, which are factors that reflect eco2 nomic conditions in the country and personal 

3 misfortune that have little relationship with how 

4 well a job applicant would perform at work. 

5 (J) In October 2011, FICO noted that 

6 from 2008 to 2009 approximately 50 million 

7 people experienced a 20-point drop in their 

8 credit scores and about 21 million saw their 

9 scores decline by more than 50 points. While 

10 the Great Recession reduced many consumers’ 

11 credit scores due to foreclosures and other fi12 nancial hardships, the financial crisis had a 

13 particularly harsh impact on African Americans 

14 and Latinos, as racial and ethnic minorities and 

15 communities of color were frequently targeted 

16 by predatory mortgage lenders who steered bor17 rowers into high-cost subprime loans, even when 

18 these borrowers would have qualified for less 

19 costly prime credit. 

20 (K) A May 2006 Brookings Institution re21 port titled ‘‘Credit Scores, Reports, and Getting 

22 Ahead in America’’ found that counties with a 

23 relatively higher proportion of racial and ethnic 

24 minorities in the United States tended to have 

25 lower credit scores compared with counties that 


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1 had a lower concentration of communities of 

2 color. 

3 (L) Studies have consistently found that 

4 African American and Latino households tend, 

5 on average, to have lower credit scores than 

6 White households. The growing use of credit 

7 checks, therefore, may disproportionately screen 

8 otherwise qualified racial and ethnic minorities 

9 out of jobs, leading to discriminatory hiring 

10 practices, and further exacerbating the trend 

11 where unemployment for African American and 

12 Latino communities is elevated well above the 

13 rate of Whites. 

14 (M) A 2012 Demos survey found that 65 

15 percent of White respondents reported having 

16 good or excellent credit scores while over half of 

17 African American households reported only hav18 ing fair or bad credit. 

19 (12) DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING MARKETING

20 PRACTICES.— 

21 (A) The Consumer Bureau’s February 

22 2015 report titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit 

23 Reports and Scores’’ found that some con24 sumers did not obtain a copy of their consumer 

25 report due to concerns about security or of 


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1 being trapped into purchasing unwanted prod2 ucts like an additional report or a credit moni3 toring service. 

4 (B) In January 2017, the Consumer Bu5 reau fined TransUnion and Equifax for decep6 tively marketing credit scores for purchase by 

7 consumers as the same credit scores typically 

8 used by lenders to determine creditworthiness 

9 and for luring consumers into costly subscrip10 tion services that were advertised as ‘‘free’’ or 

11 ‘‘$1’’ that automatically charged recurring fees 

12 unless cancelled by consumers. The Consumer 

13 Bureau also found that Equifax was illegally 

14 advertising its products on webpages that con15 sumers accessed through 

16 AnnualCreditReport.com before consumers ob17 tained their free disclosures. Because of these 

18 troubling practices, TransUnion was ordered to 

19 pay $13.9 million in restitution to harmed con20 sumers and a civil penalty of $3 million to the 

21 Consumer Bureau. Equifax was ordered to pay 

22 more than $3.7 million to affected consumers 

23 as well as a civil money penalty of $2.5 million 

24 to the Consumer Bureau. As part of the con25 sent orders, the CRAs are also supposed to 


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1 change the way that they sell their products to 

2 consumers. The CRAs must also obtain con3 sumers’ express consent before enrolling them 

4 into subscription services as well as make it 

5 easer for consumers to cancel these programs. 

6 (C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other 

7 nationwide CRA—Experian—in March 2017 

8 for deceiving consumers about the use of credit 

9 scores that it marketed and sold to consumers 

10 as credit scores that were used by lenders and 

11 for illegally advertising its products on web 

12 pages that consumers accessed through 

13 AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained 

14 their free annual disclosures. Experian was or15 dered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitu16 tion to harmed consumers and a civil monetary 

17 penalty of $2.5 million to the Consumer Bu18 reau. 

19 (D) The Consumer Bureau’s January and 

20 March 2017 consent orders with the three na21 tionwide CRAs show that these CRAs have en22 ticed consumers into purchasing products and 

23 services that they may not want or need, in 

24 some instances by advertising products or serv25 ices ‘‘free’’ that automatically converted into an 


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1 ongoing subscription service at the regular price 

2 unless cancelled by the consumer. Although 

3 these CRAs must now change their deceptive 

4 marketing practices, codifying these duties is an 

5 appropriate way to ensure that these companies 

6 never revert back to such misleading tactics. 

7 (E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer 

8 reports in consumers’ lives and the fact that 

9 consumers’ participation in the credit reporting 

10 system is involuntary, CRAs should also 

11 prioritize providing consumers with the effective 

12 means to safeguard their personal and financial 

13 information and improve their credit standing, 

14 rather than seeking to exploit consumers’ con15 cerns and confusion about credit reporting and 

16 scoring, to boost their companies’ profits. 

17 (F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legiti18 mate concerns about the security of their per19 sonal and financial information, deserve clear, 

20 accurate, and transparent information about 

21 the credit reporting tools that may be available 

22 to them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. 

23 (13) PROTECTIONS FOR CONSUMERS’ CREDIT

24 INFORMATION.— 


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1 (A) Despite heightened awareness, inci2 dents of ID theft continue to rise. In February 

3 2015, the Federal Government reported that ID 

4 theft was the top consumer complaint that it 

5 received for the 15th consecutive year. As these 

6 incidents increase, consumers experience signifi7 cant financial loss and emotional distress from 

8 the inability to safeguard effectively and inex9 pensively their credit information from bad ac10 tors. 

11 (B) According to a Carnegie Mellon study, 

12 children are 50 times more likely than adults to 

13 have their identities stolen. Child identities are 

14 valuable to thieves because most children do not 

15 have existing files, and their parents may not 

16 notice fraudulent activity until their child ap17 plies for a student loan, a job, or a credit card. 

18 As a result, the fraudulent activity of the bad 

19 actors may go undetected for years. 

20 (C) Despite the increasing incidents of 

21 children’s ID theft, parents who want to 

22 proactively prevent their children from having 

23 their identity stolen, may not be able to do so. 

24 Only one of the three nationwide CRAs cur25 rently allows parents from any State to set up 


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1 a freeze for a minor child. At the other two na2 tionwide CRAs, parents can only obtain a freeze 

3 after a child has become an ID theft victim be4 cause, it is only at this point, that these CRAs 

5 have an existing credit file for the child. While 

6 many States have enacted laws to address this 

7 problem, there is no existing Federal law. 

8 (D) According to Javelin Strategy & 

9 Research’s 2015 Identity Fraud study, $16 bil10 lion was stolen by fraudsters from 12.7 million 

11 American consumers in 2014. Similarly, the 

12 United States Department of Justice found an 

13 estimated 7 percent of all residents age 16 or 

14 older (about 17.6 million persons) in this coun15 try were victims of one or more incidents of ID 

16 theft in 2014, and the number of elderly victims 

17 age 65 or older (about 86 percent) increased 

18 from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014. 

19 (E) Consumers frequently express concern 

20 about the security of their financial informa21 tion. According to a 2015 MasterCard survey, 

22 a majority of consumers (77 percent) have anx23 iety about the possibility that their financial in24 formation and Social Security numbers may be 

25 stolen or compromised, with about 55 percent 


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1 of consumers indicating that they would rather 

2 have naked pictures of themselves leaked online 

3 than have their financial information stolen. 

4 (F) That survey also revealed that con5 sumers’ fears about the online security of their 

6 financial information even outweighed con7 sumers’ worries about other physical security 

8 dangers such as having their houses robbed (59 

9 percent) or being pickpocketed (46 percent). 

10 (G) According to Consumer Reports, 

11 roughly 50 million American consumers spent 

12 about $3.5 billion in 2010 to purchase products 

13 aimed at protecting their identity, with the an14 nual cost of these services ranging from $120 

15 to $300. As risks to consumers’ personal and fi16 nancial information continue to grow, con17 sumers need additional protections to ensure 

18 that they have fair and reasonable access to the 

19 full suite of ID theft and fraud prevention 

20 measures that may be right for them. 

21 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 Except as otherwise specified, the amendments made 

23 by this Act shall take effect 2 years after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. DISCRETIONARY SURPLUS FUND. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The dollar amount specified 

3 under section 7(a)(3)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 

4 U.S.C. 289(a)(3)(A)) is reduced by $26,000,000 (in5 creased by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000) (in6 creased by $15,000,000). 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

8 subsection (a) shall take effect on September 30, 2029. 

9 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO 

10 THE DISPUTE PROCESS 

11 SEC. 101. DISPUTE PROCEDURES AND DISCLOSURES RE12 LATING TO REINVESTIGATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 611(a) of the Fair Credit 

14 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)) is amended to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) REINVESTIGATIONS OF DISPUTED INFORMA17 TION BY A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REINVESTIGATIONS REQUIRED.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection 

20 (f), if the completeness or accuracy of any item 

21 of information contained in a consumer’s file at 

22 a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the 

23 consumer and the consumer notifies the agency 

24 (either directly or indirectly through a reseller 

25 or an authorized third party) of such dispute, 

26 the agency shall, free of charge— 


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1 ‘‘(i) conduct a reasonable reinvestiga2 tion using the process described in para3 graph (3) to determine whether the dis4 puted information is inaccurate, incom5 plete, or cannot be verified; 

6 ‘‘(ii) notify the consumer that a nota7 tion described in section 605(e) will be 

8 added to the consumer’s file until the re9 investigation has been completed and that 

10 such notation can be removed at the re11 quest of the consumer; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) before the end of the 30-day pe13 riod beginning on the date on which the 

14 consumer reporting agency receives the no15 tice of the dispute from the consumer or 

16 the reseller— 

17 ‘‘(I) record the current status of 

18 the disputed information; or 

19 ‘‘(II) delete or modify the item in 

20 accordance with paragraph (3)(D). 

21 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF PERIOD TO REINVES22 TIGATE.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

23 (C), the 30-day period described in subpara24 graph (A) may be extended for period not to ex25 ceed 15 days if the consumer reporting agency 


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1 receives additional information from the con2 sumer or the reseller regarding the dispute 

3 after the date on which the consumer reporting 

4 agency notified any person who provided any 

5 item of information in dispute under paragraph 

6 (2)(A). 

7 ‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS ON EXTENSION OF PE8 RIOD TO REINVESTIGATE.—Subparagraph (B) 

9 shall not apply to any reinvestigation in which, 

10 during the 30-day period described in subpara11 graph (A), the disputed information is found to 

12 be inaccurate or incomplete, or the consumer 

13 reporting agency determines that the disputed 

14 information cannot be verified. 

15 ‘‘(2) PROMPT NOTICE OF DISPUTE TO FUR16 NISHER OF INFORMATION; PROVISION OF INFORMA17 TION REGARDING DISPUTE PROVIDED BY THE CON18 SUMER OR RESELLER.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 

20 period of 5 business days beginning on the date 

21 on which a consumer reporting agency receives 

22 notice of a dispute from any consumer or re23 seller under paragraph (1)(A), the consumer re24 porting agency shall provide notification of the 

25 dispute to any person who provided any item of 


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1 information in dispute, at the address and in 

2 the manner established with such person. The 

3 notice shall include all information, including 

4 substantiating documents, regarding the dispute 

5 that was submitted to the consumer reporting 

6 agency. 

7 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA8 TION REGARDING DISPUTE AFTER NOTIFICA9 TION TO THE FURNISHER OF INFORMATION.— 

10 If a consumer reporting agency receives addi11 tional information regarding the dispute from 

12 the consumer or reseller after the agency pro13 vides the notification described under subpara14 graph (A) and before the end of the 30-day pe15 riod described in paragraph (1)(A), the con16 sumer reporting agency shall, not later than 3 

17 business days after receiving such information, 

18 provide such information to the person who pro19 vided the information in dispute. 

20 ‘‘(3) REASONABLE STANDARDS FOR CONSUMER

21 REPORTING AGENCIES FOR CONDUCTING REINVES22 TIGATIONS AND RESOLVING DISPUTES SUBMITTED

23 BY CONSUMERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting a re2 investigation of disputed information, a con3 sumer reporting agency shall, at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(i) maintain sufficient resources and 

5 trained staff, commensurate with the vol6 ume and complexity of disputes received or 

7 reasonably anticipated to be received, to 

8 determine whether the disputed informa9 tion is accurate, complete, or can be 

10 verified by the person who provided the in11 formation; 

12 ‘‘(ii) ensure that all staff involved at 

13 any level of the reinvestigation process, in14 cluding any individual with ultimate au15 thority over determining whether the dis16 puted information is inaccurate, incom17 plete, or cannot be verified, are located 

18 within the United States; 

19 ‘‘(iii) verify that the personally identi20 fiable information of the consumer submit21 ting the dispute matches the personally 

22 identifiable information contained in the 

23 consumer’s file, and that such information 

24 is accurate and complete; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) verify that the consumer report2 ing agency has a record of the information 

3 being disputed; and 

4 ‘‘(v) conduct a reasonable review that 

5 considers all information, including sub6 stantiating documents, provided by the 

7 consumer or reseller. 

8 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER REPORTING.—The con9 sumer reporting agency shall not impose any 

10 limitation or otherwise impede the ability of a 

11 consumer to submit information about the dis12 puted item. 

13 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS.—The re14 investigation conducted under subparagraph 

15 (A) shall be an independent analysis, separate 

16 from any investigation by a reseller or a person 

17 who provided the disputed information. 

18 ‘‘(D) DELETION OR MODIFICATION OF IN19 FORMATION CONTAINED IN A CONSUMER

20 FILE.—If the disputed information is found to 

21 be inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, 

22 the dispute resolution staff of the consumer re23 porting agency shall have the direct authority to 

24 delete or modify such information in the con25 sumer’s file, as appropriate, during the 30-day 


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1 period described in paragraph (1)(A), shall 

2 promptly notify the consumer of the results of 

3 the reinvestigation as described in paragraph 

4 (4), and shall promptly notify any person who 

5 provided such information to the consumer re6 porting agency of the modification or deletion 

7 made to the consumer’s file. 

8 ‘‘(4) NOTICE TO CONSUMER OF RESULTS OF

9 REINVESTIGATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 busi11 ness days after the conclusion of a reinvestiga12 tion conducted under this subsection, the con13 sumer reporting agency shall provide written 

14 notice to the consumer of the results of the re15 investigation by postal mail or, if authorized by 

16 the consumer for that purpose, by other means 

17 available to the agency. 

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF NOTICE TO CONSUMER

19 OF RESULTS OF REINVESTIGATION.—The notice 

20 described in subparagraph (A) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(i) a statement that the reinvestiga22 tion of the disputed information has been 

23 completed; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a statement informing the con25 sumer as to whether the disputed informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 tion was determined to be inaccurate, in2 complete, or unverifiable, including a state3 ment of the specific reasons supporting the 

4 determination; 

5 ‘‘(iii) if information in the consumer’s 

6 file has been deleted or modified as a re7 sult of the reinvestigation— 

8 ‘‘(I) a copy of the consumer re9 port and credit score or educational 

10 score (if applicable) that is based 

11 upon the consumer’s revised file; 

12 ‘‘(II) a statement identifying the 

13 specific information from the con14 sumer’s file that was deleted or modi15 fied because such information was de16 termined to be inaccurate, incomplete, 

17 or unverifiable by the consumer re18 porting agency; 

19 ‘‘(III) a statement that the con20 sumer has the right, free of charge, to 

21 obtain an additional consumer report 

22 and credit score or educational credit 

23 score (if applicable) within the 12- 

24 month period following the date of the 

25 conclusion of the reinvestigation, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 gardless of whether the consumer ob2 tained or will obtain a free annual 

3 consumer report and credit score or 

4 educational score (if applicable) under 

5 section 612; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) a statement that the con7 sumer has the right, free of charge, to 

8 request under subsection (d) that the 

9 consumer reporting agency furnish 

10 notifications of the consumer’s revised 

11 report; 

12 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

13 used by the dispute resolution staff of the 

14 consumer reporting agency to determine 

15 the accuracy or completeness of the infor16 mation, including the business name, mail17 ing address, telephone number, and Inter18 net website address (if available) of any 

19 person who provided information who was 

20 contacted by the staff in connection with 

21 the determination; 

22 ‘‘(v) a statement that the consumer 

23 has the right, free of charge, to add a nar24 rative statement to the consumer’s file dis25 puting the accuracy or completeness of the 


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1 information, regardless of the results of 

2 the reinvestigation by the agency, and the 

3 process for submitting such a narrative 

4 pursuant to subsection (b); 

5 ‘‘(vi) a copy of all information relating 

6 to the consumer that was used by the con7 sumer reporting agency in carrying out the 

8 reinvestigation and relied upon as the basis 

9 for the determination about the accuracy 

10 and completeness of the disputed informa11 tion; 

12 ‘‘(vii) a statement that a consumer 

13 may, free of charge, challenge the results 

14 of the reinvestigation by appeal within 120 

15 days after the date the notice of the results 

16 of the reinvestigation was provided to the 

17 consumer and the process for submitting 

18 an appeal; 

19 ‘‘(viii) a statement informing the con20 sumer that a notation described in section 

21 605(e) will be added to the file of the con22 sumer during the period in which the con23 sumer appeals the results of a reinvestiga24 tion and that such notation can be re25 moved at the request of the consumer; and 


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1 ‘‘(ix) any other information, as deter2 mined by the Bureau. 

3 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REINSER4 TION OF PREVIOUSLY DELETED OR MODIFIED MATE5 RIAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION OF NEW DETERMINA7 TION THAT ITEM IS ACCURATE OR COM8 PLETE.—A consumer reporting agency may not 

9 reinsert into a consumer’s file any information 

10 that was previously deleted or modified pursu11 ant to paragraph (3)(D), unless the person who 

12 provided the information— 

13 ‘‘(i) requests that the consumer re14 porting agency reinsert such information; 

15 ‘‘(ii) submits a written certification 

16 that the information is accurate and com17 plete; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) provides a statement describing 

19 the specific reasons why the information 

20 should be inserted. 

21 ‘‘(B) NOTICE TO CONSUMER BEFORE RE22 INSERTION CAN OCCUR.—Upon receipt of a re23 quest for reinsertion of disputed information 

24 under subparagraph (A), the consumer report25 ing agency shall, not later than 5 business days 


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1 before the consumer reporting agency reinserts 

2 the information into the consumer’s file, notify 

3 the consumer in writing of such request for re4 insertion. Such notice shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) the business name, mailing ad6 dress, telephone number, and Internet 

7 website address (if available) of any person 

8 who provided information to or contacted 

9 the consumer reporting agency in connec10 tion with the reinsertion; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a copy of the information relat12 ing to the consumer, the certification that 

13 the information is accurate or complete, 

14 and the statement of the reasons sup15 porting reinsertion provided by the person 

16 who provided the information to the con17 sumer reporting agency under subpara18 graph (A); 

19 ‘‘(iii) a statement that the consumer 

20 may obtain, free of charge and within the 

21 12-month period following the date the no22 tice under this subparagraph was issued, a 

23 consumer report and credit score or edu24 cational score (if applicable) from the con25 sumer reporting agency that includes the 


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1 reinserted information, regardless of 

2 whether the consumer obtained or will ob3 tain a free annual consumer report and 

4 credit score or educational credit score (if 

5 applicable) under section 612; 

6 ‘‘(iv) a statement that the consumer 

7 may appeal the determination that the pre8 viously deleted or modified information is 

9 accurate or complete and a description of 

10 the procedure for the consumer to make 

11 such an appeal pursuant to subsection (i); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(v) a statement that the consumer 

14 has the right to add a narrative statement, 

15 free of charge, to the consumer’s file dis16 puting the accuracy or completeness of the 

17 disputed information and a description of 

18 the process to add such a narrative state19 ment pursuant to subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(6) EXPEDITED DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—If a 

21 consumer reporting agency determines that the in22 formation provided by the consumer is sufficient to 

23 substantiate that the item of information is inac24 curate, incomplete, or cannot be verified by the per25 son who furnished such information, and the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 sumer reporting agency deletes or modifies such in2 formation within 3 business days of receiving notice 

3 of the dispute, the consumer reporting agency shall 

4 be exempt from the requirements of paragraph (4), 

5 if the consumer reporting agency provides to the 

6 consumer— 

7 ‘‘(A) prompt notice confirming the deletion 

8 or modification of the information from the con9 sumer’s file in writing or by other means, if 

10 agreed to by the consumer when the informa11 tion is disputed; 

12 ‘‘(B) a statement of the consumer’s right 

13 to request that the consumer reporting agency 

14 furnish notifications of a revised consumer re15 port pursuant to subsection (d); 

16 ‘‘(C) not later than 5 business days after 

17 deleting or modifying the information, a copy of 

18 the consumer report and credit score or edu19 cational score (if applicable) that is based upon 

20 the consumer’s revised file; and 

21 ‘‘(D) a statement that the consumer may 

22 obtain, free of charge and within the 12-month 

23 period following the date the notice under this 

24 paragraph was sent to the consumer, a con25 sumer report and credit score or educational 


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1 score (if applicable) from the consumer report2 ing agency, regardless of whether the consumer 

3 obtained or will obtain their free annual con4 sumer report and credit score or educational 

5 score (if applicable) under section 612. 

6 ‘‘(7) NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO CONDUCT

7 REINVESTIGATION.—A consumer reporting agency 

8 may not refuse to conduct a reinvestigation under 

9 this subsection because the agency determines that 

10 the dispute was submitted by an authorized third 

11 party, unless the agency has clear and convincing 

12 evidence that the third party is not authorized to 

13 submit the dispute on the consumer’s behalf. If the 

14 consumer reporting agency refuses to reinvestigate a 

15 dispute for these reasons, it shall provide a clear and 

16 conspicuous notice to the consumer explaining the 

17 reasons for the refusal and describing the specific in18 formation the consumer is required to provide for 

19 the agency to conduct the reinvestigation.’’. 

20 (b) ENSURING CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES

21 FURNISH CERTAIN NOTIFICATIONS WITHOUT CHARGE.— 

22 Section 611(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 1681i(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and without 

24 charge’’ after ‘‘request of the consumer’’. 


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1 (c) INCLUDING SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORTING

2 AGENCIES IN REPORTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 611(e) of the Fair 

4 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(e)) is 

5 amended by inserting ‘‘or 603(x)’’ after ‘‘section 

6 603(p)’’. 

7 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 611(e)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681i(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘The 

10 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘The Bureau’’. 

11 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit 

12 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is further amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in section 605B(c)(2), by striking ‘‘section 

15 611(a)(5)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 611(a)(5)’’; 

16 (2) in section 611— 

17 (A) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘unless 

18 there is reasonable grounds to believe that it is 

19 frivolous or irrelevant,’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (f)(3)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘paragraph (6), (7), or (8) of subsection 

23 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4) or (5) of 

24 subsection (a)’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘in the manner required under paragraph 

3 (8)(A)’’; and 

4 (3) in section 623(b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘rel5 evant’’ before ‘‘information’’. 

6 (e) GLOBAL TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO REF7 ERENCES TO NATIONWIDE SPECIALTY CONSUMER RE8 PORTING AGENCY.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is further amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘section 603(w)’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘section 603(x)’’ each place such term appears; and 

12 (2) in section 612(a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘(w)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘(x)’’. 

14 SEC. 102. CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DISPUTE RIGHTS. 

15 Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(h) INCREASED CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DIS19 PUTE RIGHTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this subsection, each 

22 consumer reporting agency described under sub23 section (p) or (x) of section 603 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) establish an Internet website acces25 sible to consumers; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) post on the home page of such 

2 website a hyperlink to a separate webpage es3 tablished and maintained solely for the purpose 

4 of providing information to a consumer about 

5 how to dispute an item of information in the 

6 consumer report of the consumer. 

7 ‘‘(2) DISPUTE WEBPAGE REQUIREMENTS.—For 

8 a consumer reporting agency described under sub9 section (p) or (x) of section 603, the separate dis10 pute webpage described in paragraph (1)(B)— 

11 ‘‘(A) may not include any type or form of 

12 marketing, advertising, information, or material 

13 associated with any products or services offered 

14 or sold to consumers; 

15 ‘‘(B) shall clearly and conspicuously dis16 close a concise statement regarding how to file 

17 a dispute through the agency, free of charge, in 

18 the manner and format prescribed by the Bu19 reau; 

20 ‘‘(C) shall describe the types of documents 

21 that will be used by the agency in resolving the 

22 dispute, including the business name and mail23 ing address to which a consumer may send such 

24 documents; 


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1 ‘‘(D) shall include a clear and concise ex2 planation of and the process for using electronic 

3 or other means to submit such documents, free 

4 of charge, and without any character or data 

5 limitation imposed by the agency; 

6 ‘‘(E) shall include a statement that the 

7 consumer may submit information, free of 

8 charge, that the consumer believes will assist 

9 the consumer reporting agency in determining 

10 the results of the reinvestigation of the dispute; 

11 ‘‘(F) shall clearly and conspicuously dis12 close a statement describing the procedure like13 ly to be used by the consumer reporting agency 

14 in carrying out a reinvestigation to determine 

15 the accuracy or completeness of the disputed 

16 item of information, including the time period 

17 in which the consumer will be notified of the re18 sults of the reinvestigation, and a statement 

19 that the agency may extend the reinvestigation 

20 period by an additional 15 days if the consumer 

21 submits additional information after a certain 

22 date; and 

23 ‘‘(G) shall provide translations of all infor24 mation on the webpage in each of the 10 most 

25 commonly spoken languages, other than 


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1 English, in the United States, as determined by 

2 the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing basis, 

3 and in formats accessible to individuals with 

4 hearing or vision impairments.’’. 

5 SEC. 103. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS BY FURNISHERS. 

6 Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(f) DUTY OF FURNISHERS TO MAINTAIN RECORDS

10 OF CONSUMERS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who furnishes in12 formation to a consumer reporting agency relating 

13 to a consumer who has an account with that person 

14 shall maintain all information necessary to substan15 tiate the accuracy and completeness of the informa16 tion furnished, including any records establishing the 

17 liability and terms and conditions under which credit 

18 was extended to a consumer and any payment his19 tory with respect to such credit. 

20 ‘‘(2) RETENTION PERIOD.—Records described 

21 under paragraph (1) shall be maintained until the 

22 information with respect to which the records relate 

23 may no longer be included in a consumer report pur24 suant to section 605. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP.—If a person 

2 providing information to a consumer reporting agen3 cy is acquired by another person, or if another per4 son acquires the right to repayment connected to 

5 such information, the acquiring person shall be sub6 ject to the requirements of this subsection with re7 spect to such information to the same extent as the 

8 person who initially provided such information to the 

9 consumer reporting agency. The person selling or 

10 transferring the right to repayment shall provide the 

11 information described in paragraph (1) to the trans12 feree or the acquirer.’’. 

13 SEC. 104. DUTIES OF FURNISHERS RELATING TO DISPUTE 

14 PROCEDURES, NOTICES, AND DISCLOSURES. 

15 (a) DUTY TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE

16 INFORMATION.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit Re17 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

19 ‘‘AND COMPLETE’’ after ‘‘ACCURATE’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘or incomplete’’ after ‘‘in22 accurate’’ each place that term appears; and 

23 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or 

24 completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’; and 

25 (3) in paragraph (8)— 


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

2 ‘‘and completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or 

4 completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’. 

5 (b) NEGATIVE INFORMATION NOTICES TO CON6 SUMERS.—Section 623(a)(7) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(7)) is amended to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(7) DUTY OF FURNISHERS TO INFORM CON10 SUMERS ABOUT REPORTING NEGATIVE INFORMA11 TION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) GENERAL NEGATIVE INFORMATION

13 WARNING NOTICE TO ALL CONSUMERS PRIOR

14 TO FURNISHING SUCH INFORMATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person that 

16 regularly furnishes negative information to 

17 a consumer reporting agency described in 

18 subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 about 

19 activity on any accounts of a consumer 

20 held by such person or transactions associ21 ated with credit extended to a consumer by 

22 such person shall provide a written general 

23 negative information warning notice to 

24 each such consumer before such person 


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1 may furnish any negative information re2 lating to such a consumer. 

3 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—Such notice shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) be clear and conspicuous; 

5 ‘‘(II) describe the types of activi6 ties that constitute negative informa7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(III) inform the consumer that 

9 the person may report negative infor10 mation relating to any such accounts 

11 or transactions to a consumer report12 ing agency described in subsection (p) 

13 or (x) of section 603; 

14 ‘‘(IV) state that the negative in15 formation may appear on a consumer 

16 report of the consumer for the periods 

17 described in section 605 and that dur18 ing such periods, the negative infor19 mation may adversely impact the con20 sumer’s credit score; 

21 ‘‘(V) state that in some limited 

22 circumstances, the negative informa23 tion may result in other adverse ac24 tions, including a denial of a new job 


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1 or a promotion from existing employ2 ment; and 

3 ‘‘(VI) state that the consumer 

4 has right to— 

5 ‘‘(aa) obtain a copy of their 

6 consumer report and credit score 

7 or educational score (if applica8 ble), which in some instances can 

9 be obtained free of charge, from 

10 any consumer reporting agency 

11 to which negative information 

12 may be been sent; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) dispute, free of 

14 charge, any errors on a consumer 

15 report relating to the consumer. 

16 ‘‘(iii) TIMING OF NOTICE.—Such per17 son shall provide such notice to a consumer 

18 not later than 90 days before the date on 

19 which the person furnishes negative infor20 mation relating to such consumer. 

21 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC NEGATIVE INFORMATION

22 NOTICE TO A CONSUMER.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person de24 scribed in subparagraph (A) that has fur25 nished negative information relating to acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 tivity on any accounts of a consumer held 

2 by such person or transactions associated 

3 with credit extended to a consumer by such 

4 person to a consumer reporting agency de5 scribed in subsection (p) or (x) of section 

6 603 shall send a written notice to each 

7 such consumer. 

8 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—Such notice shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) be clear and conspicuous; 

10 ‘‘(II) inform the consumer that 

11 the person has furnished negative in12 formation relating to such accounts or 

13 transactions to a consumer reporting 

14 agency described in subsection (p) or 

15 (x) of section 603; 

16 ‘‘(III) identify any consumer re17 porting agency to which the negative 

18 information was furnished, including 

19 the name of the agency, mailing ad20 dress, Internet website address, and 

21 toll-free telephone number; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) include the statements de23 scribed in subclauses (IV), (V), and 

24 (VI) of subparagraph (A)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) TIME OF NOTICE.—Such person 

2 shall provide such notice to a consumer not 

3 later than 5 business days after the date 

4 on which the person furnished negative in5 formation relating to such consumer. 

6 ‘‘(C) NOTICE EFFECTIVE FOR SUBSE7 QUENT SUBMISSIONS.—After providing the no8 tice described in subparagraph (B), the person 

9 may submit additional negative information to 

10 a consumer reporting agency described in sub11 section (p) or (x) of section 603 without pro12 viding additional notice to the consumer, unless 

13 another person acquires the right to repayment 

14 connected to the additional negative informa15 tion. The acquiring person shall be subject to 

16 the requirements of this paragraph and shall be 

17 required to send consumers the written notices 

18 described in this paragraph, if applicable. 

19 ‘‘(D) NON-TRADITIONAL DATA FUR20 NISHERS.—Any person that furnishes negative 

21 information to a consumer reporting agency de22 scribed in subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 

23 relating to any accounts of, or transactions as24 sociated with, a consumer by such person in25 volving non-traditional data shall be subject to 


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1 the requirements described in subparagraphs 

2 (A), (B), and (C). 

3 ‘‘(E) MODEL NOTICES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) DUTY OF BUREAU.—Not later 

5 than 6 months after date of the enactment 

6 of this paragraph, the Bureau shall issue 

7 model forms for the notices described in 

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B) that a person 

9 may use to comply with the requirements 

10 of this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(ii) USE OF MODEL NOTICE NOT RE12 QUIRED.—No provision of this paragraph 

13 may be construed to require a person to 

14 use the model notices prescribed by the 

15 Bureau. 

16 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE USING MODEL NO17 TICES.—A person shall be deemed to be in 

18 compliance with the requirements of sub19 paragraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) (as applicable) 

20 if the person uses the model notice pre21 scribed by the Bureau. 

22 ‘‘(F) ISSUANCE OF GENERAL NEGATIVE

23 WARNING NOTICE WITHOUT SUBMITTING NEGA24 TIVE INFORMATION.—No provision of this para25 graph may be construed to require a person deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (D) to furnish 

2 negative information about a consumer to a 

3 consumer reporting agency described in sub4 section (p) or (x) of section 603. 

5 ‘‘(G) SAFE HARBOR.—A person shall not 

6 be liable for failure to perform the duties re7 quired by this paragraph if the person reason8 ably believes that the person is prohibited, by 

9 law, from contacting the consumer. 

10 ‘‘(H) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The require11 ments of subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) 

12 shall not take effect until the date that is 6 

13 months after the date of the issuance of model 

14 forms for notices under subparagraph (E). 

15 ‘‘(I) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, the 

16 following definitions shall apply: 

17 ‘‘(i) NEGATIVE INFORMATION.—The 

18 term ‘negative information’ means infor19 mation concerning a consumer’s delin20 quencies, late payments, insolvency, or any 

21 form of default. 

22 ‘‘(ii) NON-TRADITIONAL DATA.—The 

23 term ‘non-traditional data’ relates to tele24 communications payments, utility pay25 ments, rent payments, remittances, wire 


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1 transfers, and such other items as deter2 mined by the Bureau.’’. 

3 (c) DUTIES OF FURNISHERS AFTER RECEIVING NO4 TICE OF DISPUTE FROM A CONSUMER.—Section 

5 623(a)(8)(E) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 1681s–2(a)(8)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(E) DUTIES OF FURNISHERS AFTER RE8 CEIVING NOTICE OF DISPUTE FROM A CON9 SUMER.—After receiving a notice of dispute 

10 from a consumer pursuant to subparagraph 

11 (D), the person that provided the information 

12 in dispute to a consumer reporting agency 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) promptly provide to each con15 sumer reporting agency to which the per16 son furnished the disputed information the 

17 notice of dispute; 

18 ‘‘(ii) review all information, including 

19 any substantiating documents, provided by 

20 the consumer about the disputed informa21 tion and conduct an investigation, separate 

22 from any reinvestigation by a consumer re23 porting agency or a reseller conducted with 

24 respect to the disputed information; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) before the expiration of the pe2 riod under section 611(a)(1) within which 

3 a consumer reporting agency would be re4 quired to complete its action if the con5 sumer had elected to dispute the informa6 tion under that section, complete an inves7 tigation of the disputed information pursu8 ant to the standards described in subpara9 graph (G); 

10 ‘‘(iv) notify the consumer, in writing, 

11 of the receipt of the dispute that in12 cludes— 

13 ‘‘(I) a statement about any infor14 mation additional to the information 

15 that the person is required to main16 tain under subsection (f) that would 

17 support the person’s ability to carry 

18 out an investigation to resolve the 

19 consumer’s dispute; and 

20 ‘‘(II) a statement that the con21 sumer reporting agency to which the 

22 disputed information was provided will 

23 include a notation described in section 

24 605(e) in the consumer’s file until the 

25 investigation has been completed, and 


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1 information about how a consumer 

2 may request that such notation is re3 moved by the agency; 

4 ‘‘(v) if the investigation determines 

5 the disputed information is inaccurate, in6 complete, or unverifiable, promptly notify 

7 each consumer reporting agency to which 

8 the person furnished such information in 

9 accordance with paragraph (2); and 

10 ‘‘(vi) notify the consumer of the re11 sults of the investigation, in writing, in ac12 cordance with subparagraph (H).’’. 

13 (d) ELIMINATING FURNISHERS’ AUTHORITY TO DIS14 MISS DISPUTES AS FRIVOLOUS OR IRRELEVANT.—Section 

15 623(a)(8) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 1681s–2(a)(8)) is amended by striking subparagraph (F) 

17 and redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (F). 

18 (e) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—Section 623(a)(8) of the 

19 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(8)), as 

20 amended by subsection (d), is further amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new subparagraphs: 

22 ‘‘(G) REASONABLE STANDARDS FOR FUR23 NISHERS FOR CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS

24 AND RESOLVING DISPUTES SUBMITTED BY CON25 SUMERS.—In any investigation conducted by a 


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1 person who furnishes information to a con2 sumer reporting agency of an item of informa3 tion being disputed by a consumer, the person, 

4 at a minimum— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall maintain sufficient resources 

6 and trained staff, commensurate with the 

7 volume and complexity of disputes received 

8 or reasonably anticipated to be received, to 

9 conduct investigations; 

10 ‘‘(ii) shall verify that the person has a 

11 record of the particular information being 

12 disputed, consistent with the requirements 

13 of subsection (f); 

14 ‘‘(iii) shall verify that the personally 

15 identifiable information of the consumer 

16 submitting the dispute matches the person17 ally identifiable information contained on 

18 such records; 

19 ‘‘(iv) shall conduct a reasonable re20 view to determine whether the disputed in21 formation is accurate, complete, and can 

22 be verified that considers all the informa23 tion, including any substantiating docu24 ments, provided by the consumer about the 

25 disputed information; 


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1 ‘‘(v) shall ensure that the investiga2 tion is an independent analysis that is sep3 arate from any reinvestigation by a con4 sumer reporting agency or a reseller con5 ducted with respect to the disputed infor6 mation; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) may not impose any limitations 

8 or otherwise impede the ability of a con9 sumer to submit information, including 

10 any substantiating documents, about the 

11 disputed information. 

12 ‘‘(H) CONTENTS OF THE NOTICE TO THE

13 CONSUMER ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THE IN14 VESTIGATION BY THE FURNISHER.—The notice 

15 of the results of the investigation described in 

16 subparagraph (E) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) a statement informing the con18 sumer as to whether the disputed informa19 tion was determined to be inaccurate, in20 complete, or unverifiable; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the specific rea22 sons supporting the results of the inves23 tigation; 

24 ‘‘(iii) a description of the procedure 

25 used by the dispute resolution staff of the 


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1 person who furnishes information to a con2 sumer reporting agency to determine the 

3 accuracy or completeness of the informa4 tion, including the business name, mailing 

5 address, telephone number, and Internet 

6 website address (if available) of any person 

7 who was contacted by the staff in connec8 tion with the determination; 

9 ‘‘(iv) a copy of all information relating 

10 to the consumer that was used in carrying 

11 out the investigation and was the basis for 

12 any determination about the accuracy or 

13 completeness of the disputed information; 

14 ‘‘(v) a statement that consumer will 

15 receive, free of charge, a copy of their con16 sumer report and credit score or edu17 cational credit score (if applicable), from 

18 any consumer reporting agency to which 

19 the disputed information had been pro20 vided, regardless of whether the consumer 

21 obtained or will obtain a free consumer re22 port and credit score or educational credit 

23 score (if applicable) in the 12-month period 

24 preceding receipt of the notice described in 


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1 this subparagraph pursuant to section 

2 612(a)(1); 

3 ‘‘(vi) if the disputed information was 

4 found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or un5 verifiable, a statement that the consumer 

6 report of the consumer shall be revised to 

7 reflect the change to the consumer’s file as 

8 a result of the investigation; 

9 ‘‘(vii) a statement that the consumer 

10 has the right to appeal the results of the 

11 investigation under paragraph (10), free of 

12 charge, within 120 days after the date of 

13 the notice of the results of the investiga14 tion was provided to the consumer and the 

15 process for submitting an appeal; 

16 ‘‘(viii) a statement that the consumer 

17 may add a narrative statement, free of 

18 charge, to the consumer’s file held by the 

19 consumer reporting agency to which the in20 formation has been furnished disputing the 

21 accuracy or completeness of the informa22 tion, regardless of the results of the inves23 tigation by the person, and the process for 

24 contacting any agency that received the 


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1 consumer’s information from the person to 

2 submit a narrative statement; 

3 ‘‘(ix) a statement informing the con4 sumer that a notation described in section 

5 605(e) will be added to the consumer’s file 

6 during the period in which the consumer 

7 appeals the results of an investigation and 

8 that such notation can be removed at the 

9 request of the consumer; and 

10 ‘‘(x) a statement that the consumer 

11 has the right to request a copy of their 

12 consumer report and credit score or edu13 cational credit score (if applicable), free of 

14 charge, within the 12-month period fol15 lowing the date of the conclusion of the in16 vestigation from any consumer reporting 

17 agency in which the disputed information 

18 had been provided, regardless of whether 

19 the consumer obtained or will obtain a free 

20 annual consumer report and credit score or 

21 educational credit score (if applicable) 

22 under this subparagraph or section 

23 612(a)(1).’’. 

24 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

25 615(a)(4)(B) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘, under section 611, with a 

2 consumer reporting agency’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘furnished by the agency’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘to a consumer reporting agency under 

5 section 611 or to a person who furnished informa6 tion to an agency under section 623’’. 

7 SEC. 105. RIGHT TO APPEAL DISPUTES RELATING TO RE8 INVESTIGATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS. 

9 (a) APPEALS OF REINVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY

10 A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.—Section 611 of the 

11 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or if the 

14 consumer is unsatisfied with the results of an appeal 

15 conducted under subsection (i),’’ after ‘‘resolve the 

16 dispute,’’; and 

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) (as added 

18 by section 102) the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(i) CONSUMER RIGHT TO APPEAL RESULTS OF A

20 CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REINVESTIGATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 120 days after the 

22 date of receipt of the results of a reinvestigation 

23 conducted under subsection (a), a consumer (or au24 thorized third party) may, free of charge, appeal the 


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1 results of such reinvestigation by submitting a notice 

2 of appeal to the consumer reporting agency. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF APPEAL.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—A notice of appeal 

5 described in paragraph (1) may be submitted in 

6 writing, or through a toll-free telephone number 

7 or other electronic means established by the 

8 consumer reporting agency (including on the 

9 Internet website described in subsection (h)), 

10 and— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall identify the information con12 tained in the consumer’s file that is the 

13 subject of the appeal; 

14 ‘‘(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 

15 for submitting the notice of appeal; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) may provide any information the 

17 consumer believes is relevant to substan18 tiate the validity of the dispute. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY NO20 TICE TO CONSUMER.—Upon receipt of such no21 tice of appeal, the consumer reporting agency 

22 shall promptly provide to the consumer a state23 ment confirming the receipt of the consumer’s 

24 notice of appeal that shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an approximate date on which the 

2 consumer’s appeal review will be com3 pleted; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the process and procedures by 

5 which such review will be conducted; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) an employee reference number 

7 or other employee identifier for each of the 

8 specific individuals designated by the con9 sumer reporting agency who, upon the re10 quest of the consumer, may discuss the 

11 substance and status of the appeal. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REQUIRE13 MENTS UPON RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF APPEAL.— 

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

15 days after receiving a notice of appeal, the con16 sumer reporting agency shall review the appeal. 

17 If the consumer reporting agency determines 

18 the information is inaccurate, incomplete, or 

19 cannot be verified, the consumer reporting 

20 agency shall delete or modify the item of infor21 mation being disputed by the consumer from 

22 the file of the consumer before the end of the 

23 20-day period beginning on the date on which 

24 the consumer reporting agency receives a notice 

25 of an appeal from the consumer. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF APPEAL TO FURNISHER; 

2 INFORMATION REGARDING DISPUTE PROVIDED

3 BY THE CONSUMER.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of 

5 the period of 3 business days beginning on 

6 the date on which a consumer reporting 

7 agency receives a notice of appeal, the con8 sumer reporting agency shall provide no9 tice of the appeal, including all information 

10 relating to the specific appeal that the con11 sumer reporting agency has received from 

12 the consumer, to any person who provided 

13 any information in dispute. 

14 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL IN15 FORMATION REGARDING THE DISPUTE.—If 

16 the consumer reporting agency receives ad17 ditional information from the consumer 

18 after the agency provides the notice re19 quired under clause (i) and before the end 

20 of the 20-day period described in subpara21 graph (A), the consumer reporting agency 

22 shall, not later than 3 business days after 

23 receiving such information, provide such 

24 information to any person who provided 

25 the information in dispute and shall have 


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1 an additional 10 business days to complete 

2 the appeal review. 

3 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR APPEALS

4 EMPLOYEES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION.—Upon receipt of 

6 a notice of appeal under paragraph (1), a 

7 consumer reporting agency shall designate 

8 one or more specific employees who— 

9 ‘‘(I) shall be assigned an em10 ployee reference number or other em11 ployee identifier that can be used by 

12 the consumer to discuss the appeal 

13 with the specific individuals handling 

14 the appeal; 

15 ‘‘(II) shall have direct authority 

16 to resolve the dispute that is the sub17 ject of the notice of appeal from the 

18 review stage to its completion; 

19 ‘‘(III) shall meet minimum train20 ing and ongoing certification require21 ments at regular intervals, as estab22 lished by the Bureau; 

23 ‘‘(IV) shall be located within the 

24 United States; 


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1 ‘‘(V) may not have been involved 

2 in the reinvestigation conducted or 

3 terminated pursuant to subsection (a); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(VI) may not be subject to any 

6 requirements linking incentives, in7 cluding promotion, to the number of 

8 appeals processed within a certain 

9 time period. 

10 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Such employ11 ees shall conduct a robust review of the ap12 peal and make a determination regarding 

13 the accuracy and completeness of the dis14 puted information by— 

15 ‘‘(I) conducting an independent 

16 analysis, separate from any investiga17 tion by a reseller or person who pro18 vided the disputed information, and 

19 separate from any prior reinvestiga20 tion conducted by the consumer re21 porting agency of the disputed infor22 mation; 

23 ‘‘(II) verifying that the personally 

24 identifiable information of the con25 sumer submitting the dispute matches 


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1 the personally identifiable information 

2 contained on the consumer’s file; 

3 ‘‘(III) analyzing the notice of ap4 peal and all information, including 

5 any substantiating documents, pro6 vided by the consumer with the notice 

7 of appeal; 

8 ‘‘(IV) evaluating the validity of 

9 any information submitted by any 

10 person that was used by the consumer 

11 reporting agency in the reinvestigation 

12 of the initial dispute; 

13 ‘‘(V) verifying that the consumer 

14 reporting agency has a record of the 

15 information being disputed; and 

16 ‘‘(VI) applying any additional 

17 factors or investigative processes, as 

18 specified by the Bureau. 

19 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF APPEAL RESULTS.—Not 

20 later than 5 days after the end of the 20-day 

21 period described under subparagraph (A) (or 

22 the 10-day extension period, as applicable) the 

23 consumer reporting agency shall provide the 

24 consumer with written notice of the results of 

25 the appeal by postal mail or, if requested by the 


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1 consumer, by other means. The contents of 

2 such notice shall include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a statement that the appeal is 

4 completed and the date on which it was 

5 completed, the results of the appeal, and 

6 the specific reasons supporting the results 

7 of the appeal; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a copy of all information relating 

9 to the consumer that was used as a basis 

10 for deciding the results of the appeal; 

11 ‘‘(iii) a consumer report that is based 

12 upon the consumer’s file as that file may 

13 have been revised as a result of the appeal; 

14 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

15 used to determine the accuracy and com16 pleteness of the information, including the 

17 business name, telephone number, mailing 

18 address, and Internet website address (if 

19 applicable) of any person who provided in20 formation that was contacted in connection 

21 with such information, if reasonably avail22 able; 

23 ‘‘(v) information describing that the 

24 consumer may submit a statement, without 

25 charge, disputing the accuracy or comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 pleteness of information in the consumer’s 

2 file that was the subject of an appeal 

3 under this subsection by submitting a 

4 statement directly to each consumer re5 porting agency that received the informa6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(vi) a description of the consumer’s 

8 rights pursuant to subsection (d) (relating 

9 to furnishing notifications to certain users 

10 of consumer reports); and 

11 ‘‘(vii) any other information, as deter12 mined by the Bureau. 

13 ‘‘(E) NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO CON14 DUCT APPEAL.—A consumer reporting agency 

15 may not refuse to conduct a review of an appeal 

16 under this subsection because the agency deter17 mines that the notice of appeal was submitted 

18 by an authorized third party, unless the agency 

19 has clear and convincing evidence that the third 

20 party is not authorized to submit the notice of 

21 appeal on the consumer’s behalf. If the con22 sumer reporting agency refuses to conduct a re23 view of the appeal for these reasons, it shall 

24 provide a clear and conspicuous written notice 

25 to the consumer explaining the reasons for the 


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1 refusal and describing any information the con2 sumer is required to provide for the agency to 

3 conduct a review of the appeal.’’. 

4 (b) APPEALS OF INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY

5 FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION.—Section 623(a) of the 

6 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new para8 graph: 

9 ‘‘(10) DUTY OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION

10 UPON NOTICE OF APPEAL OF INVESTIGATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 120 days of 

12 the date of receipt of the results of an inves13 tigation conducted under paragraph (8)(E), a 

14 consumer may, free of charge, appeal such re15 sults by submitting a notice of appeal to the 

16 person who provided the information in the dis17 pute to a consumer reporting agency (hereafter 

18 in this paragraph referred to as the ‘furnisher’). 

19 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF APPEAL.—A notice of ap20 peal described in subparagraph (A) may be sub21 mitted in writing, through a toll-free telephone 

22 number, or by other electronic means estab23 lished by the furnisher, and— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall identify the information con2 tained in the consumer’s file that is the 

3 subject of the appeal; 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 

5 for submitting the notice of appeal; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) may include any information, in7 cluding substantiating documents, the con8 sumer believes is relevant to the appeal. 

9 ‘‘(C) FURNISHER ACTIONS.—Upon receipt 

10 of such notice of appeal, the furnisher shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) before the end of the period of 3 

12 business days beginning on the date on 

13 which the furnisher receives the notice of 

14 appeal, notify each consumer reporting 

15 agency to which the person furnished such 

16 information a statement identifying the 

17 items of information that a consumer is 

18 appealing; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) notify the consumer confirming 

20 the receipt of the consumer’s notice of ap21 peal, including an approximate date when 

22 the consumer’s appeal will be completed, 

23 the process and procedures by which a re24 view of the appeal will be conducted, and 

25 the specific individual designated by the 


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1 consumer reporting agency who, upon the 

2 request of the consumer, may discuss the 

3 substance and status of the appeal. 

4 ‘‘(D) FURNISHER REQUIREMENTS UPON

5 RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF APPEAL.—Not later 

6 than 20 days after receiving a notice of appeal, 

7 the furnisher shall determine whether the item 

8 of information being disputed by the consumer 

9 is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, 

10 and shall notify the consumer reporting agency 

11 of the determination. If the furnisher cannot 

12 verify the accuracy or completeness of the dis13 puted information, the furnisher shall, before 

14 the end of the 20-day period beginning on the 

15 date on which the furnisher receives notice of 

16 an appeal from the consumer, submit instruc17 tions to the consumer reporting agency that the 

18 item of information being disputed by the con19 sumer should be deleted from the file of the 

20 consumer. 

21 ‘‘(E) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR APPEALS

22 EMPLOYEES.—Upon receipt of a notice of ap23 peal under subparagraph (A), a furnisher shall 

24 designate one or more specific employees who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be assigned an employee ref2 erence number or other employee identifier 

3 that can be used by the consumer to dis4 cuss the appeal with the specific individ5 uals handling the appeal; 

6 ‘‘(ii) shall have direct authority to re7 solve the dispute that is the subject of the 

8 notice of appeal on behalf of the furnisher 

9 from the review stage to its completion; 

10 ‘‘(iii) shall meet minimum training 

11 and ongoing certification requirements at 

12 regular intervals, as established by the Bu13 reau; 

14 ‘‘(iv) may not have been involved in 

15 an investigation conducted pursuant to 

16 paragraph (8); and 

17 ‘‘(v) may not be subject to any re18 quirements linking incentives, including 

19 promotion, to the number of appeals proc20 essed within a certain time period. 

21 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPEALS PROC22 ESS.—Such employees shall conduct a robust 

23 review of the appeal and make a determination 

24 regarding the accuracy and completeness of the 

25 disputed information by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) conducting an independent anal2 ysis, separate from any reinvestigation by 

3 a reseller or consumer reporting agency, of 

4 the disputed information; 

5 ‘‘(ii) verifying that the personally 

6 identifiable information related to the dis7 pute is accurate and complete; 

8 ‘‘(iii) analyzing the notice of appeal 

9 and all information, including substan10 tiating documents, provided by the con11 sumer with the notice of appeal; 

12 ‘‘(iv) evaluating the validity of any in13 formation submitted by any person that 

14 was used by the furnisher in the initial in15 vestigation into the dispute; 

16 ‘‘(v) verifying that the information 

17 being disputed relates to the consumer in 

18 whose file the information is located; 

19 ‘‘(vi) verifying that the furnisher has 

20 a record of the information being disputed; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(vii) applying any additional factors 

23 or investigative processes, as specified by 

24 the Bureau. 


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1 ‘‘(G) EXTENSION OF REVIEW PERIOD.—If 

2 a consumer submits additional information re3 lated to the appeal after the period of 3 busi4 ness days described in subparagraph (C)(i) and 

5 before the end of the 20-day period described in 

6 subparagraph (D), the furnisher shall have an 

7 additional 10 business days to complete the re8 view of the appeal. 

9 ‘‘(H) NOTICE OF APPEAL RESULTS.—Not 

10 later than 5 days after the end of the 20-day 

11 period described in subparagraph (D) (or the 

12 10-day extension described under subparagraph 

13 (G), as applicable) the furnisher shall provide 

14 the consumer with written notice of the results 

15 of the appeal by mail or, if requested by the 

16 consumer, by other means. The contents of 

17 such notice shall include— 

18 ‘‘(i) a statement that the appeal is 

19 completed and the date on which it was 

20 completed, the results of the appeal, and 

21 the specific reasons supporting the results 

22 of the appeal; 

23 ‘‘(ii) a copy of all information relating 

24 to the consumer that was used as a basis 

25 for deciding the results of the appeal; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) if the appeal results in any 

2 change to the consumer report, a notifica3 tion that the consumer shall receive a copy, 

4 free of charge, of a revised consumer re5 port (based upon the consumer’s file as 

6 that file was changed as a result of the ap7 peal) and a credit score or educational 

8 credit score (if applicable) from each con9 sumer reporting agency that had been fur10 nished incorrect information; 

11 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

12 used to determine the accuracy and com13 pleteness of the information, including the 

14 business name, telephone number, mailing 

15 address, and Internet website address (if 

16 applicable), of any person who provided in17 formation that was contacted in connection 

18 with such information, if reasonably avail19 able; 

20 ‘‘(v) information describing that the 

21 consumer may submit a statement, without 

22 charge, disputing the accuracy or com23 pleteness of information in the consumer’s 

24 file that was the subject of an appeal 

25 under this paragraph by submitting a 


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1 statement directly to each consumer re2 porting agency that received the informa3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(vi) a notification that the consumer 

5 may request the furnisher to submit to 

6 each consumer reporting agency the con7 sumer’s request to furnish notifications 

8 pursuant to section 611(d) (relating to fur9 nishing notifications to certain users of 

10 consumer reports).’’. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 623(a)(8)(A) 

12 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s– 

13 2(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘reinvestigate’’ and in14 serting ‘‘investigate’’. 

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 609 of the 

16 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in subsection (c)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Bureau’’ each place that term appears; 

21 (B) in the subsection heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘RIGHTS TO OBTAIN AND DISPUTE INFORMA23 TION IN CONSUMER REPORTS AND TO OBTAIN

24 CREDIT SCORES’’ and inserting ‘‘KEY CON25 SUMER REPORTING RIGHTS’’; and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘COM3 MISSION’’ and inserting ‘‘BUREAU’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

5 (I) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a 

6 consumer report without charge under 

7 section 612’’ and inserting ‘‘consumer 

8 reports and credit scores or edu9 cational credit scores (as applicable) 

10 without charge under section 612’’; 

11 (II) in clause (iii), by inserting 

12 ‘‘or section 623’’ after ‘‘section 611’’; 

13 (III) by striking clauses (iv) and 

14 (vi); 

15 (IV) by inserting after clause (iii) 

16 the following new clause: 

17 ‘‘(iv) the right of a consumer to ap18 peal a determination of a reinvestigation 

19 conducted by a consumer reporting agency 

20 under section 611(i) or an investigation 

21 conducted by a furnisher of information 

22 under section 623(a)(10);’’; and 

23 (V) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new clause: 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the method and circumstances 

2 under which consumers can obtain a 1- 

3 year fraud alert, 7-year fraud alert, active 

4 duty alert, or security freeze as described 

5 in section 605A through a consumer re6 porting agency described under section 

7 603(p).’’; 

8 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as amended 

9 by subparagraph (A)) by inserting ‘‘and 

10 the Commission’’ after ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

11 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

12 new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION OF SUMMARY

14 RIGHTS.—A consumer reporting agency de15 scribed under subsection (p) or (x) of section 

16 603 shall display in a clear and conspicuous 

17 manner, including on the Internet website of 

18 the consumer reporting agency, the summary of 

19 rights prepared by the Bureau under this para20 graph.’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘Bureau and 

22 the’’ before ‘‘Commission’’. 

23 SEC. 106. REVISED CONSUMER REPORTS. 

24 Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 1681i), as amended by section 105(a)(2), is further 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT TO SEND REVISED CONSUMER

4 REPORT TO CONSUMER.—Upon receiving a notice de5 scribed in section 623(a)(8)(E)(iv), each consumer report6 ing agency shall send to the consumer a revised consumer 

7 report and credit score or education credit score (if appli8 cable) based upon the consumer’s file as that file was 

9 changed as a result of the investigation.’’. 

10 SEC. 107. INDICATION OF DISPUTE BY CONSUMERS AND 

11 USE OF DISPUTED INFORMATION. 

12 Section 605(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 1681c(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(f) INDICATION OF DISPUTE.— 

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

16 agency shall include in any consumer report based 

17 on the consumer’s file a notation identifying any 

18 item of information that is currently in dispute by 

19 the consumer if— 

20 ‘‘(A) a consumer disputes the completeness 

21 or accuracy of any item of information con22 tained in a consumer’s file pursuant to section 

23 611(a)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(B) a consumer files with a consumer re2 porting agency an appeal of a reinvestigation 

3 pursuant to section 611(i); or 

4 ‘‘(C) the consumer reporting agency is no5 tified by a person that furnished any items of 

6 information that are currently in dispute by the 

7 consumer that— 

8 ‘‘(i) a consumer disputes the com9 pleteness or accuracy of any information 

10 furnished by a person to any consumer re11 porting agency pursuant to paragraph (3) 

12 or (8) of section 623(a); or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a consumer submits a notice of 

14 appeal under section 623(a)(10). 

15 ‘‘(2) OPT OUT.—A consumer may submit a re16 quest to a consumer reporting agency or a person 

17 who furnished the information in dispute, as applica18 ble, to have the notation described in paragraph (1) 

19 omitted from the consumer report. Upon receipt of 

20 such a request— 

21 ‘‘(A) by a consumer reporting agency, such 

22 agency shall remove the notation within 1 busi23 ness day; and 

24 ‘‘(B) by a person who furnished the infor25 mation in dispute, such person shall submit 


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1 such request to each consumer reporting agency 

2 to which the person furnished such information 

3 within 1 business day and such agency shall re4 move the notation within 1 business day of re5 ceipt of such request.’’. 

6 SEC. 108. ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS REPORT DUTIES 

7 FOR CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES AND 

8 FURNISHERS. 

9 Section 607(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

10 U.S.C. 1681e) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In preparing a consumer 

13 report, a consumer reporting agency shall maintain 

14 reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible 

15 accuracy and completeness of the information con16 cerning the individual to whom the consumer report 

17 relates. 

18 ‘‘(2) BUREAU RULE TO ASSURE MAXIMUM POS19 SIBLE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS WITH CREDIT

20 REPORTING PRACTICES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) RULE.—Not later than 18 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

23 the Bureau shall issue a final rule establishing 

24 the procedures described in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In formulating the 

2 rule required under subparagraph (A), the Bu3 reau shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) develop standards for matching 

5 the personally identifiable information in6 cluded in the consumer’s file with the per7 sonally identifiable information furnished 

8 by the person who provided the informa9 tion to the consumer reporting agency 

10 (hereafter in this subsection referred to as 

11 the ‘furnisher’), including the full name of 

12 a consumer, the date of birth of a con13 sumer, the full social security number of a 

14 consumer, and any other information that 

15 the Bureau determines would aid in assur16 ing maximum possible accuracy and com17 pleteness of such consumer reports; 

18 ‘‘(ii) establish processes for a con19 sumer reporting agency to monitor the in20 tegrity of the data provided by furnishers 

21 and the compliance of furnishers with the 

22 requirements of this title; 

23 ‘‘(iii) establish processes for a con24 sumer reporting agency to regularly rec25 oncile data relating to accounts in collecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 tion, including those that have not been 

2 paid in full, by specifying the cir3 cumstances under which the consumer re4 porting agency shall remove or suppress 

5 negative or adverse information from a 

6 consumer’s file that has not been updated 

7 by a furnisher who is also a debt collector 

8 (as defined in section 803 of the Fair Debt 

9 Collection Practices Act) within the time 

10 period established by the Bureau; 

11 ‘‘(iv) establish procedures to require 

12 each consumer reporting agency to review 

13 and monitor the quality of information re14 ceived from any source, including informa15 tion from public records, by regularly and 

16 on an ongoing basis comparing the infor17 mation received to the information avail18 able from the original source and ensuring 

19 that the information received is the most 

20 current information; 

21 ‘‘(v) develop standards and procedures 

22 for consumer reporting agencies to identify 

23 furnishers that repeatedly fail to provide 

24 accurate and complete information, to take 

25 corrective action against such furnishers, 


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1 and to reject information submitted by 

2 such furnishers; 

3 ‘‘(vi) develop standards and proce4 dures for consumer reporting agencies to 

5 adopt regarding collection of public record 

6 data, including standards and procedures 

7 to consider the ultimate data source, how 

8 the public record information is filed and 

9 its availability and accessibility, and wheth10 er information relating to the satisfaction 

11 of judgments or other updates to the pub12 lic record are available on a reasonably 

13 timely basis from a particular source; and 

14 ‘‘(vii) establish any other factors, pro15 cedures, or processes determined by the 

16 Bureau to be necessary to assist consumer 

17 reporting agencies in achieving maximum 

18 possible accuracy and completeness of the 

19 information in consumer reports. 

20 ‘‘(3) CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR FURNISHERS

21 THAT REPEATEDLY FURNISH INACCURATE OR IN22 COMPLETE INFORMATION.—Upon identifying a fur23 nisher that repeatedly fails to furnish accurate, com24 plete, or verifiable information to consumer report25 ing agencies, the Bureau shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ensure the prompt removal of any ad2 verse information relating to a consumer’s ac3 counts submitted by such furnisher; and 

4 ‘‘(B) take corrective action, which may in5 clude— 

6 ‘‘(i) mandatory revised training and 

7 training materials for the staff of the fur8 nisher regarding the furnishing of accurate 

9 and complete information; 

10 ‘‘(ii) sharing industry best practices 

11 and procedures regarding accuracy and 

12 completeness; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) temporarily prohibiting a fur14 nisher from providing information to a 

15 consumer reporting agency.’’. 

16 SEC. 109. INCLUSION OF PUBLIC RECORD DATA SOURCES 

17 IN CONSUMER REPORTS. 

18 Section 605(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 1681c(d)) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC RECORD DATA SOURCE.—Any con22 sumer reporting agency that furnishes a consumer 

23 report that contains public record data shall also in24 clude in such report the source from which that data 

25 was obtained, including the particular court, if any, 


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1 and the date that the data was initially reported or 

2 publicized.’’. 

3 SEC. 110. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR VICTIMS. 

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

5 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 616— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), by amending the 

8 subsection heading to read as follows: ‘‘DAM9 AGES’’; 

10 (B) by redesignating subsections (c) and 

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

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

13 following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—In addition to any other 

15 remedy set forth in this section, a court may award injunc16 tive relief to require compliance with the requirements im17 posed under this title with respect to any consumer. In 

18 the event of any successful action for injunctive relief 

19 under this subsection, the court may award to the pre20 vailing party costs and reasonable attorney fees (as deter21 mined by the court) incurred during the action by such 

22 party.’’; and 

23 (2) in section 617— 


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

2 subsection heading to read as follows: ‘‘DAM3 AGES’’; 

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

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

7 following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(b) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—In addition to any other 

9 remedy set forth in this section, a court may award injunc10 tive relief to require compliance with the requirements im11 posed under this title with respect to any consumer. In 

12 the event of any successful action for injunctive relief 

13 under this subsection, the court may award to the pre14 vailing party costs and reasonable attorney fees (as deter15 mined by the court) incurred during the action by such 

16 party.’’. 

17 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS18 SION.—Section 621(a)(2)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

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

20 (1) by amending the subparagraph heading to 

21 read as follows: ‘‘NEGLIGENT, WILLFUL, OR KNOW22 ING VIOLATIONS’’; and 

23 (2) by inserting ‘‘negligent, willful, or’’ before 

24 ‘‘knowing’’. 


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1 TITLE II—FREE CREDIT SCORES 

2 FOR CONSUMERS 

3 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit 

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

6 at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(bb) CREDIT SCORE AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT

8 SCORE DEFINITIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) CREDIT SCORE.—The term ‘credit score’ 

10 means a numerical value or a categorization derived 

11 from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a 

12 person who makes or arranges a loan or extends 

13 credit to predict the likelihood of certain credit be14 haviors, including default, as determined by the Bu15 reau. 

16 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE.—The term 

17 ‘educational credit score’ means a numerical value or 

18 categorization derived from a statistical tool or mod19 eling system based upon information from a con20 sumer report that assists consumers in under21 standing how a lender or creditor may view the con22 sumer’s creditworthiness in deciding whether to 

23 make a loan or extend credit to that consumer. 

24 ‘‘(3) KEY FACTORS.—The term ‘key factors’ 

25 means any relevant elements or reasons affecting the 


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1 credit score for the particular individual, listed in 

2 the order of importance based on the effect of each 

3 element or reason on the credit score or educational 

4 credit score. 

5 ‘‘(4) CREDIT SCORING MODEL.—The term 

6 ‘credit scoring model’ means a scoring algorithm, 

7 formula, model, program, or mechanism used to gen8 erate a credit score or an educational credit score.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit 

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

11 (1) in section 605(d)(2), by striking ‘‘(as de12 fined in section 609(f)(2)(B))’’; and 

13 (2) in section 615— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘as defined in section 

15 609(f)(2)(A)’’ each place that term appears; 

16 and 

17 (B) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking 

18 ‘‘set forth in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of 

19 section 609(f)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect 

20 to a credit score described in section 609(f)(2), 

21 if available’’. 

22 SEC. 202. CONSUMER INFORMATION ON CALCULATION OF 

23 SCORES. 

24 Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 1681g(f)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORE AND EDU2 CATIONAL CREDIT SCORE BY CONSUMER REPORTING

3 AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of a con5 sumer for a credit score or educational credit score, 

6 a consumer reporting agency shall supply to the con7 sumer a statement— 

8 ‘‘(A) containing— 

9 ‘‘(i) a current credit score at the time 

10 of the request generated using a commonly 

11 used credit scoring model to generate cred12 it scores, subject to regulations of the Bu13 reau; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an educational credit score at the 

15 time of the request, if it is not practicable 

16 to generate such a credit score, as deter17 mined by the Bureau; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) an explanation that the con19 sumer’s file does not have sufficient infor20 mation from which to generate such a 

21 credit score or educational credit score; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) with respect to each previous credit 

24 score in the file of the consumer— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date on which the credit score 

2 was generated; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the name of any entity that the 

4 credit score was provided to; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the credit score itself. 

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A statement provided 

7 under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) shall in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(A) a minimum of four key factors, if 

10 available, that adversely affected the credit 

11 score or educational credit score, except that if 

12 one of the key factors consists of the number of 

13 enquiries made with respect to a consumer re14 port, that factor shall be provided to the con15 sumer in addition to the factors required by 

16 this subparagraph; 

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent possible, specific actions 

18 a consumer could take with respect to each key 

19 factor listed in subparagraph (A) to improve 

20 the consumer’s credit score or educational cred21 it score; 

22 ‘‘(C) a minimum of four key factors, if 

23 available, that positively affected the credit 

24 score or educational credit score; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the range of possible credit scores or 

2 educational credit scores under the credit scor3 ing model used; 

4 ‘‘(E) the distribution of credit scores or 

5 educational credit scores among consumers who 

6 are scored under the same credit scoring model 

7 by the consumer reporting agency, and using 

8 the same scale as that of the score that is pro9 vided to a creditor or consumers— 

10 ‘‘(i) in the form of a bar graph con11 taining a minimum of six bars that illus12 trates the percentage of consumers with 

13 credit scores or educational credit scores 

14 within the range of scores represented by 

15 each bar; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) by another clear and readily un17 derstandable graphical depiction, state18 ment, or illustration comparing the con19 sumer’s credit score or educational credit 

20 score to the scores of other consumers, as 

21 determined by the Bureau; 

22 ‘‘(F) the date on which the credit score or 

23 educational credit score was created; and 

24 ‘‘(G) the name of the person that devel25 oped the credit scoring model on which the 


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1 credit score or educational credit score was 

2 based. 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN USES.—This 

4 subsection shall not be construed so as to compel a 

5 consumer reporting agency to— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop or disclose a credit score if 

7 the agency does not distribute credit scores 

8 used by a person who makes or arranges a loan 

9 or extends credit to predict the likelihood of 

10 certain credit behaviors; or 

11 ‘‘(B) develop or disclose an educational 

12 credit score if the agency does not develop edu13 cational credit scores that assist in under14 standing the general credit behavior of a con15 sumer and predicting the future credit behavior 

16 of the consumer. 

17 ‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF CREDIT SCORES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All consumer report19 ing agencies shall maintain in the consumer’s 

20 file credit scores relating to the consumer for a 

21 period of 2 years from the date on which such 

22 information is generated. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE ONLY TO CON24 SUMERS.—A past credit score maintained in a 

25 consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 


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1 may only be provided to the consumer to which 

2 the credit score relates and may not be included 

3 in a consumer report or used as a factor in gen4 erating a credit score or educational credit 

5 score. 

6 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL OF PAST CREDIT

7 SCORES.—A past credit score maintained in a 

8 consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

9 shall be removed from the consumer’s file after 

10 the end of the 2-year period described under 

11 subparagraph (A).’’. 

12 SEC. 203. DISCLOSURES RELATING TO CREDIT SCORES AND 

13 EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORES. 

14 Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 1681g(f)), as amended by section 202, is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following new para17 graphs: 

18 ‘‘(5) WEBSITE DISCLAIMER.—A consumer re19 porting agency that generates or provides credit 

20 scores or educational credit scores shall clearly and 

21 conspicuously display on the home page of the agen22 cy’s Internet website, and as part of any application, 

23 solicitation, or marketing material or media pro24 viding information related to a credit score or edu25 cational credit score, the following notice, in boldface 


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1 type of 18-point font or larger and in a text box 

2 with boldface outer borders: 

3 ‘‘ ‘CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 

4 ‘‘ ‘There is no ‘‘one’’ credit score. There are many 

5 scoring formulas derived from a wide variety of models 

6 available to a consumer and used by lenders and creditors. 

7 Different lenders and creditors use different scoring for8 mulas to determine whether to extend credit or make a 

9 loan to you, and the terms of the credit or loan. An edu10 cational credit score is not a credit score that a person 

11 who makes a loan or extends credit to you is likely to use. 

12 Educational credit scores are merely intended to be used 

13 as an educational tool to help consumers understand how 

14 the information contained in a consumer report may affect 

15 the terms and conditions of a loan or extension of credit 

16 that may be available to a consumer. Lenders and credi17 tors may also rely on information not contained in your 

18 consumer report and not reflected in the calculation of 

19 your credit score.’. 

20 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EDU21 CATIONAL CREDIT SCORES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) DISCLAIMER.—If an educational 

23 credit score is provided pursuant to paragraph 

24 (1), a consumer reporting agency shall clearly 

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1 tion on the statement, in boldface type of 18- 

2 point font or larger, and in a text box with 

3 boldface outer borders, the following notice: 

4 ‘‘ ‘EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 

5 ‘‘ ‘The educational credit score provided to you is not 

6 a credit score that a lender or creditor is likely to use to 

7 make a loan or extend credit to you. There are many dif8 ferent credit scores derived from a wide variety of models 

9 used by lenders and creditors. An educational credit score 

10 is merely an educational tool. It is intended to provide con11 sumers with a basic understanding of how the information 

12 contained in a consumer report may affect the terms and 

13 conditions of credit that are available. The credit scores 

14 you receive directly from different lenders and creditors 

15 may not be the same as an educational credit score. There 

16 are a number of reasons for this: 

17 ‘‘ ‘(1) Each company may use a different for18 mula for calculating credit scores and the differences 

19 in the formulas may lead to differences in your 

20 scores. 

21 ‘‘ ‘(2) Companies may produce scores that give 

22 results on different scales. 

23 ‘‘ ‘(3) Not all lenders or creditors report to 

24 every consumer reporting agency, and therefore the 

25 information contained in your consumer report that 


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1 the consumer reporting agencies use to calculate 

2 your educational credit score may differ among 

3 agencies.’. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING REP5 RESENTATIONS.—A consumer reporting agency 

6 may not refer to an educational credit score as 

7 a credit score in any application, solicitation, 

8 marketing, or other informational materials or 

9 media. 

10 ‘‘(7) MODIFICATION OF DISCLAIMERS.—The 

11 Bureau may modify the content, format, and man12 ner of the disclaimers required under paragraphs (5) 

13 and (6), if warranted, after conducting consumer 

14 testing or research.’’. 

15 SEC. 204. FREE CREDIT SCORE DISCLOSURES AND CON16 SUMER REPORTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 612 of the Fair Credit 

18 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

22 after ‘‘section 609’’ the following: ‘‘(includ23 ing the disclosure of a credit score or edu24 cational credit score under subsection (f) 

25 of such section)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

4 (II) by inserting ‘‘, credit scores, 

5 and educational credit scores (as ap6 plicable)’’ after ‘‘consumer reports’’ 

7 each place that term appears; 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘15 days’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘3 business days’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, credit score, or 

12 educational credit score’’ after ‘‘consumer 

13 report’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, credit 

15 score, or educational credit score’’ after ‘‘con16 sumer report’’; and 

17 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, credit 

18 scores, or educational credit scores’’ after ‘‘con19 sumer reports’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘(including 

21 the disclosure of a credit score or educational credit 

22 score, as applicable, under subsection (f) of such sec23 tion)’’ after the first instance of ‘‘section 609’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including the disclosure 

2 of a credit score or educational credit score 

3 under subsection (f) of such section)’’ after 

4 ‘‘pursuant to section 609’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

6 and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(4) has disputed information, or submitted an 

12 appeal of an investigation or reinvestigation of such 

13 information, under section 611 or 623, regardless of 

14 whether the consumer has already received a credit 

15 report, credit score, or educational credit score 

16 under section 611 or 623; or 

17 ‘‘(5) has had information that was previously 

18 deleted under section 611(a)(5) reinserted into the 

19 consumer’s file, regardless of whether the consumer 

20 has already received a credit report, credit score, or 

21 educational credit score under such section.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘(including 

23 the disclosure of a credit score or educational credit 

24 score under subsection (f) of such section)’’ after 

25 ‘‘section 609’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (f)(1)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘reasonable charge’’ and 

3 all that follows through ‘‘section 609’’ and in4 serting ‘‘reasonable charge on a consumer for 

5 providing a consumer report to a consumer’’; 

6 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

7 (C) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively (and 

9 conforming the margins accordingly); and 

10 (D) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesig11 nated), by striking ‘‘disclosure; and’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘disclosure.’’; and 

13 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub14 sections: 

15 ‘‘(h) CENTRALIZED SOURCE FOR OBTAINING FREE

16 COPY OF CONSUMER REPORT AND SCORES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) NATIONWIDE CONSUMER REPORTING

18 AGENCIES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date of enactment of this sub21 section, each consumer reporting agency de22 scribed under subsection (p) of section 603 

23 shall prominently display on the home page of 

24 the agency’s website— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a hyperlink labeled ‘Get Your 

2 Free Annual Credit Reports along with ei3 ther your Credit Scores or Educational 

4 Credit Scores provided for under Federal 

5 Law’ or substantially similar text, as deter6 mined by the Bureau; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) a disclosure titled ‘Consumer’s 

8 Right to Free Credit Scores, Educational 

9 Credit Scores, and Reports under Federal 

10 Law’ or substantially similar text, as deter11 mined by the Bureau that includes the fol12 lowing statement: 

13 ‘‘ ‘All consumers are entitled to obtain a free copy of 

14 their consumer report and credit score or educational cred15 it score annually from each of the nationwide consumer 

16 reporting agencies. Under Federal law, a consumer is enti17 tled to obtain additional free copies of their consumer re18 ports, along with a copy of either the consumer’s credit 

19 score or educational credit score (under certain cir20 cumstances), including: 

21 ‘‘ ‘(1) When a consumer is unemployed and in22 tends to apply for employment within 60 days. 

23 ‘‘ ‘(2) When a consumer is a recipient of public 

24 welfare assistance. 


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1 ‘‘ ‘(3) When a consumer has a reasonable belief 

2 that their report contains inaccuracies as a result of 

3 fraud. 

4 ‘‘ ‘(4) When a consumer asserts in good faith a 

5 suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to 

6 become a victim of identity theft, fraud, or a related 

7 crime, or harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of 

8 the consumer’s financial or personally identifiable in9 formation. 

10 ‘‘ ‘(5) When a consumer files a dispute or an 

11 appeal of the results of a dispute with a consumer 

12 reporting agency or a person who furnished informa13 tion to the consumer reporting agency regarding the 

14 accuracy or completeness of the information con15 tained on their report. 

16 ‘‘ ‘(6) After a furnisher of information discovers 

17 it has furnished inaccurate or incomplete informa18 tion to a consumer reporting agency, and the fur19 nisher notifies the agency of the error. 

20 ‘‘ ‘(7) After an adverse action is taken against 

21 a consumer or a consumer receives a risk-based pric22 ing notice. 

23 ‘‘ ‘(8) When a mortgage lender, private edu24 cational lender, indirect auto lender, or motor vehicle 


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1 lender obtains and uses a consumer’s reports or 

2 scores for underwriting purposes.’. 

3 ‘‘(B) HYPERLINK REQUIREMENTS.—The 

4 hyperlink described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

5 be prominently located on the top of the home 

6 page and should link directly to the website of 

7 the centralized source established pursuant to 

8 section 211(d) of the Fair and Accurate Credit 

9 Transactions Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 1681j 

10 note). 

11 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATIONS.—The Bureau may 

12 modify the disclosure described in subparagraph 

13 (A)(ii) as necessary to include other cir14 cumstances under which a consumer has the 

15 right to receive a free consumer report, credit 

16 score, or educational credit score. 

17 ‘‘(2) NATIONWIDE SPECIALTY CONSUMER RE18 PORTING AGENCIES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date of enactment of this sub21 section, each nationwide specialty consumer re22 porting agency shall prominently display on the 

23 Internet home webpage of the agency a disclo24 sure titled ‘Consumer’s Right to Free Con25 sumer Reports and Credit Score or Educational 


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1 Credit Score (as applicable) under Federal 

2 Law’. Such disclosure shall include the fol3 lowing statement: 

4 ‘‘ ‘Upon request, all consumers are entitled to obtain 

5 a free copy of their consumer report and credit score or 

6 educational credit score (as applicable) during any 12- 

7 month period from each of the nationwide specialty con8 sumer reporting agencies. Federal law also provides fur9 ther circumstances under which a consumer is entitled to 

10 obtain additional free copies of their consumer report and 

11 credit score or educational credit score (as applicable) in12 cluding: 

13 ‘‘ ‘(1) When a consumer is unemployed and in14 tends to apply for employment within 60 days. 

15 ‘‘ ‘(2) When a consumer is a recipient of public 

16 welfare assistance. 

17 ‘‘ ‘(3) When a consumer has a reasonable belief 

18 that their report contains inaccuracies as a result of 

19 fraud. 

20 ‘‘ ‘(4) When a consumer files a dispute or an 

21 appeal of the results of a dispute with a consumer 

22 reporting agency or a person who furnished informa23 tion to the consumer reporting agency regarding the 

24 accuracy or completeness of the information con25 tained on their report. 


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1 ‘‘ ‘(5) After a furnisher of information discovers 

2 it has furnished inaccurate or incomplete informa3 tion to a consumer reporting agency, and the fur4 nisher notifies the agency of the error. 

5 ‘‘ ‘(6) After an adverse action is taken against 

6 a consumer or a consumer receives a risk-based pric7 ing notice. 

8 ‘‘ ‘(7) When a mortgage lender, private edu9 cational lender, indirect auto lender, or motor vehicle 

10 lender obtains and uses a consumer’s reports or 

11 scores for underwriting purposes.’. 

12 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS.—The Bureau may 

13 modify the disclosure described in subparagraph 

14 (A) as necessary to include other circumstances 

15 under which a consumer has the right to receive 

16 a free consumer report and credit score or edu17 cational credit score (as applicable). 

18 ‘‘(C) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE ACCESS.— 

19 The information described in this paragraph 

20 shall also be made available via a toll-free tele21 phone number. Such number shall be promi22 nently displayed on the home page of the 

23 website of each nationwide specialty consumer 

24 reporting agency. Each of the circumstances 

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1 sumer report and credit score or educational 

2 credit score (as applicable) shall be presented in 

3 an easily understandable format and consumers 

4 shall be directed to an individual who is a cus5 tomer service representative not later than 2 

6 minutes after the initial phone connection is 

7 made by the consumer. Information provided 

8 through such telephone number shall comply 

9 with the requirements of section 633. 

10 ‘‘(D) ONLINE CONSUMER REPORTS; EX11 EMPTION.—Upon receipt of a request by a con12 sumer for a consumer report, each nationwide 

13 specialty consumer reporting agency shall pro14 vide access to such report electronically on the 

15 Internet website described in section 611(h). 

16 ‘‘(i) AUTOMATIC PROVISION OF FREE CONSUMER

17 REPORTS AND CREDIT SCORES OR EDUCATIONAL CREDIT

18 SCORES.—A consumer reporting agency shall provide to 

19 a consumer a free copy of the file and credit score or edu20 cational credit score of the consumer who— 

21 ‘‘(1) obtains a 1-year fraud alert, 7-year fraud 

22 alert, active duty alert, or security freeze as de23 scribed in section 605A; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) has disputed information, or submitted an 

2 appeal of an investigation or reinvestigation of such 

3 information, under section 611 or 623.’’. 

4 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 615(h)(7) of 

5 such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(h)(7)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘section’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

7 ‘‘subsection’’. 

8 SEC. 205. PROVISION OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND CREDIT 

9 SCORES BY PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LEND10 ERS. 

11 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(h) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND

15 CREDIT SCORES BY PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LENDERS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a private educational 

17 lender obtains a copy of any consumer reports or 

18 credit scores and uses such reports or scores in con19 nection with an application of a consumer for a pri20 vate education loan, the private educational lender 

21 shall provide to the consumer, not later than 3 busi22 ness days after obtaining such reports or scores and 

23 before the date on which the consumer enters into 

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1 er, a copy of any such reports or scores, along with 

2 the statement described under subsection (f)(2). 

3 ‘‘(2) COSTS.—None of the costs to the private 

4 educational lender associated with procuring con5 sumer reports or credit scores under this subsection 

6 may be charged, directly or indirectly, to the con7 sumer. 

8 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

9 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 

10 requirement for creditors and lenders to provide 

11 credit score disclosures, including the statement de12 scribed under subsection (f)(2), to consumers as 

13 part of an adverse action or risk-based pricing no14 tice.’’. 

15 SEC. 206. PROVISION OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND CREDIT 

16 SCORES BY MOTOR VEHICLE LENDERS OR IN17 DIRECT AUTO LENDERS. 

18 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 1681g), as amended by section 205, is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new sub21 section: 

22 ‘‘(i) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND

23 CREDIT SCORES USED BY MOTOR VEHICLE LENDERS OR

24 INDIRECT AUTO LENDERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a motor vehicle lender or 

2 indirect auto lender obtains a copy of any consumer 

3 reports or credit scores and uses such reports or 

4 scores in connection with an application of a con5 sumer for a motor vehicle loan or lease, the motor 

6 vehicle lender or indirect auto lender shall provide to 

7 the consumer a document, separate from the con8 sumer’s lease or purchase agreement and before the 

9 consumer enters into a lease or purchase agreement, 

10 disclosing any consumer reports and credit scores, 

11 including the statement described in subsection 

12 (f)(2), used by the lender to determine whether to 

13 extend credit to the consumer. 

14 ‘‘(2) COSTS.—None of the costs to the motor 

15 vehicle lender or indirect auto lender associated with 

16 procuring consumer reports or credit scores under 

17 this subsection may be charged, directly or indi18 rectly, to the consumer. 

19 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 

21 requirement for creditors and lenders to provide 

22 credit score disclosures, including the statement de23 scribed under subsection (f)(2), to consumers as 

24 part of an adverse action or risk-based pricing no25 tice. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) INDIRECT AUTO LENDER.—The term 

3 ‘indirect auto lender’ has the meaning given the 

4 term by the Bureau, and shall include a person 

5 extending a loan made with respect to a car, 

6 boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or other 

7 similar vehicle used primarily for personal or 

8 household purposes. 

9 ‘‘(B) MOTOR VEHICLE LENDER.—The 

10 term ‘motor vehicle lender’ has the meaning 

11 given the term by the Board of Governors of 

12 the Federal Reserve System, and shall include 

13 a person extending a loan made with respect to 

14 a car, boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or 

15 other similar vehicle used primarily for personal 

16 or household purposes.’’. 

17 SEC. 207. PROVISION OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND CREDIT 

18 SCORES BY RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LEND19 ERS. 

20 Section 609(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 1681g(g)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para23 graph (5); 

24 (2) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘a consumer credit score’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘any consumer reports or credit 

3 scores’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘, as defined in subsection 

5 (f),’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘the following to the con7 sumer as soon as reasonably practicable:’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘, not later than 3 business days after 

9 using such reports or scores, a document dis10 closing any consumer reports and credit scores 

11 used by the lender to determine whether to ex12 tend credit to the consumer along with the 

13 statement described in subsection (f)(2).’’; 

14 (D) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), 

15 (C), (E), and (F); 

16 (E) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

17 paragraph (3) (and adjusting the margins ac18 cordingly); and 

19 (F) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 

20 paragraph (4) (and adjusting the margins ac21 cordingly); 

22 (3) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as so 

23 designated) the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

25 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 


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1 requirement for lenders to provide credit score dis2 closures, including the statement described under 

3 subsection (f)(2), to consumers as part of an adverse 

4 action or risk-based pricing notice.’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (3) (as so designated), in the 

6 quoted material— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘, free of charge,’’ after 

8 ‘‘disclose to you’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘affecting your credit 

10 scores’’ and inserting ‘‘affecting your credit 

11 score or scores’’; 

12 (5) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) by in13 serting ‘‘or scores’’ after ‘‘credit score’’ each place 

14 such term appears; and 

15 (6) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(6) ACTIONS NOT REQUIRED.—This subsection 

18 shall not require any person to disclose any credit 

19 score or related information obtained by the person 

20 after a loan has closed. 

21 ‘‘(7) NO PROCUREMENT COSTS.—None of the 

22 costs to the creditor or lender associated with pro23 curing any consumer reports or scores under this 

24 subsection may be charged, directly or indirectly, to 

25 the consumer.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—STUDENT BORROWER 

2 CREDIT IMPROVEMENT ACT 

3 SEC. 301. REMOVAL OF ADVERSE INFORMATION FOR CER4 TAIN PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN BOR5 ROWERS. 

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

7 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 405, is 

8 further amended by inserting after section 605D the fol9 lowing new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 605E. Credit rehabilitation for distressed private 

11 education loan borrowers 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 

13 may not furnish any consumer report containing any ad14 verse item of information relating to a delinquent or de15 faulted private education loan of a borrower if the bor16 rower has rehabilitated the borrower’s credit with respect 

17 to such loan by making nine on-time monthly payments 

18 (in accordance with the terms and conditions of the bor19 rower’s original loan agreement or any other repayment 

20 agreement that antedates the original agreement) during 

21 a period of 10 consecutive months on such loan after the 

22 date on which the delinquency or default occurred. 

23 ‘‘(b) INTERRUPTION OF 10–MONTH PERIOD FOR

24 CERTAIN CONSUMERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PERMISSIBLE INTERRUPTION OF THE 10- 

2 MONTH PERIOD.—A borrower may stop making con3 secutive monthly payments and be granted a grace 

4 period after which the 10-month period described in 

5 subsection (a) shall resume. Such grace period shall 

6 be provided under the following circumstances: 

7 ‘‘(A) With respect to a borrower who is a 

8 member of the Armed Forces entitled to incen9 tive pay for the performance of hazardous duty 

10 under section 301 of title 37, United States 

11 Code, hazardous duty pay under section 351 of 

12 such title, or other assignment or special duty 

13 pay under section 352 of such title, the grace 

14 period shall begin on the date on which the bor15 rower begins such assignment or duty and end 

16 on the date that is 6 months after the comple17 tion of such assignment or duty. 

18 ‘‘(B) With respect to a borrower who re19 sides or works in an area affected by a major 

20 disaster or emergency declared under the Rob21 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

22 Assistance Act, the grace period shall begin on 

23 the initial date of the incident period of the 

24 major disaster or emergency and end on the 

25 date that is the earlier of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 6 months after the date on which 

2 the major disaster or emergency was de3 clared; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the later of— 

5 ‘‘(I) 3 months after the date on 

6 which the major disaster or emer7 gency was declared; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the date that the Director 

9 of the Bureau, in consultation with 

10 the Administrator of the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency, de12 termines is the date on which substan13 tially all provision of assistance by the 

14 Federal Emergency Management 

15 Agency under such major disaster or 

16 emergency declaration has concluded. 

17 ‘‘(2) OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau may 

19 allow a borrower demonstrating hardship to 

20 stop making consecutive monthly payments and 

21 be granted a grace period after which the 10- 

22 month period described in subsection (a) shall 

23 resume. 

24 ‘‘(B) BORROWER DEMONSTRATING HARD25 SHIP DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 


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1 ‘borrower demonstrating hardship’ means a 

2 borrower or a class of borrowers who, as deter3 mined by the Bureau, is facing or has experi4 enced unusual extenuating life circumstances or 

5 events that result in severe financial or personal 

6 barriers, including homelessness (as defined by 

7 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop8 ment), such that the borrower or class of bor9 rowers does not have the capacity to comply 

10 with the requirements of subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—The Bureau shall establish pro12 cedures to implement the credit rehabilitation described 

13 in this section, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) the manner, content, and form for request15 ing credit rehabilitation; 

16 ‘‘(2) the method for validating that the bor17 rower is satisfying the requirements of subsection 

18 (a); 

19 ‘‘(3) the manner, content, and form for noti20 fying the private educational loan holder of— 

21 ‘‘(A) the borrower’s participation in credit 

22 rehabilitation under subsection (a); 

23 ‘‘(B) the requirements described in sub24 section (d); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the restrictions described in sub2 section (f); 

3 ‘‘(4) the manner, content, and form for noti4 fying a consumer reporting agency of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the borrower’s participation in credit 

6 rehabilitation under subsection (a); and 

7 ‘‘(B) the requirements described in sub8 section (d); 

9 ‘‘(5) the method for verifying whether a bor10 rower qualifies for the grace period described in sub11 section (b); 

12 ‘‘(6) the manner, content, and form of notifying 

13 a consumer reporting agency and private educational 

14 loan holder that a borrower was granted a grace pe15 riod. 

16 ‘‘(d) STANDARDIZED REPORTING CODES.—A con17 sumer reporting agency shall develop standardized report18 ing codes for use by any private educational loan holder 

19 to identify and report a borrower’s status of making and 

20 completing nine on-time monthly payments during a pe21 riod of 10 consecutive months on a delinquent or defaulted 

22 private education loan, including codes specifying the 

23 grace period described in subsection (b) and any agree24 ment to modify monthly payments. Such codes shall not 

25 appear on any report provided to a third party, and shall 


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1 be removed from the consumer’s credit report upon the 

2 consumer’s completion of the rehabilitation period under 

3 this section as soon as possible, but in no case later than 

4 5 days after such completion. 

5 ‘‘(e) ELIMINATION OF BARRIERS TO CREDIT REHA6 BILITATION.—A consumer report in which a private edu7 cational loan holder furnishes the standardized reporting 

8 codes described in subsection (d) to a consumer reporting 

9 agency, or in which a consumer reporting agency includes 

10 such codes, shall be deemed to comply with the require11 ments for accuracy and completeness under sections 

12 607(b), 623(a)(1), and 632. 

13 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON CIVIL ACTIONS FOR CON14 SUMERS PURSUING REHABILITATION.—A private edu15 cational loan holder may not commence or proceed with 

16 any civil action against a borrower with respect to a delin17 quent or defaulted loan during the period of rehabilitation 

18 if the private educational loan holder has been notified, 

19 in accordance with the procedures established by the Bu20 reau pursuant to subsection (c)— 

21 ‘‘(1) of such borrower’s intent to participate in 

22 rehabilitation; 

23 ‘‘(2) that such borrower has satisfied the re24 quirements under subsection (a); or 


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1 ‘‘(3) that such borrower was granted a grace 

2 period. 

3 ‘‘(g) IMPACT ON STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR

4 PRIOR DEBT.—Payments by a borrower on a private edu5 cation loan that are made during and after a period of 

6 rehabilitation under this section shall have no effect on 

7 the statute of limitations with respect to payments that 

8 were due on such private education loan before the begin9 ning of the period of rehabilitation. 

10 ‘‘(h) PAYMENT PLANS.—If a private educational loan 

11 holder enters into a payment plan with a borrower on a 

12 private education loan during a period of rehabilitation, 

13 such payment plan shall be reasonable and affordable, as 

14 determined by the Bureau. 

15 ‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION TO SUBSEQUENT DEFAULT

17 OR DELINQUENCY.—A borrower who satisfies the re18 quirements under subsection (a) shall be eligible for 

19 additional credit rehabilitation described in sub20 section (a) with respect to any subsequent default or 

21 delinquency of the borrower on the rehabilitated pri22 vate education loan. 

23 ‘‘(2) INTERRUPTION OF CONSECUTIVE PAY24 MENT PERIOD REQUIREMENT.—The grace period de25 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A) shall not apply if any 


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1 regulation promulgated under section 987 of title 

2 10, United States Code (commonly known as the 

3 Military Lending Act), or the Servicemembers Civil 

4 Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.) allows for 

5 a grace period or other interruption of the 10-month 

6 period described in subsection (a) and such grace pe7 riod or other interruption is longer than the period 

8 described in subsection (b)(1)(A) or otherwise pro9 vides greater protection or benefit to the borrower 

10 who is a member of the Armed Forces.’’. 

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

12 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended 

13 by section 405, is further amended by inserting after the 

14 item relating to section 605D the following new item: 

‘‘605E. Credit rehabilitation for distressed private education loan borrowers who 

demonstrate a history of loan repayment.’’. 

15 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 623(a)(1) 

16 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s17 2(a)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (E). 

18 SEC. 302. PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN DEFINITIONS. 

19 Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 201(a), is further 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(cc) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN DEFINITIONS.— 

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1 cational lender’ have the meanings given such terms, re2 spectively, in section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending 

3 Act.’’. 

4 TITLE IV—CREDIT RESTORA5 TION FOR VICTIMS OF PRED6 ATORY ACTIVITIES AND UN7 FAIR CONSUMER REPORTING 

8 PRACTICES 

9 SEC. 401. ADVERSE CREDIT INFORMATION. 

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

11 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c), as amended by sections 

12 107, 109, and 201, is further amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Except as authorized 

15 under subsection (b), no’’ and inserting ‘‘No’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘10 

17 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Civil 

19 suits, civil judgments, and records’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Records’’; 

21 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘seven 

22 years’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years’’; 

23 (E) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘seven 

24 years’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years’’; 

25 (F) in paragraph (5)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘, other than records of 

2 convictions of crimes’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘seven years’’ and in4 serting ‘‘4 years’’; and 

5 (G) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(9) Civil suits and civil judgments (except as 

8 provided in paragraph (8)) that, from date of entry, 

9 antedate the report by more than 4 years or until 

10 the governing statute of limitations has expired, 

11 whichever is the longer period. 

12 ‘‘(10) A civil suit or civil judgment— 

13 ‘‘(A) brought by a private education loan 

14 holder that, from the date of successful comple15 tion of credit restoration or rehabilitation in ac16 cordance with the requirements of section 605D 

17 or 605E, antedates the report by 45 calendar 

18 days; or 

19 ‘‘(B) brought by a lender with respect to 

20 a covered residential mortgage loan (as defined 

21 in section 605C(b)) that antedates the report 

22 by 45 calendar days. 

23 ‘‘(11) Records of convictions of crimes which 

24 antedate the report by more than 7 years. 


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1 ‘‘(12) Any other adverse item of information re2 lating to the collection of debt that did not arise 

3 from a contract or an agreement to pay by a con4 sumer, including fines, tickets, and other assess5 ments, as determined by the Bureau, excluding tax 

6 liability.’’; 

7 (2) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

8 subsections (c) through (h) as subsections (b) 

9 through (g), respectively; and 

10 (3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), by 

11 striking ‘‘7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) 

12 and (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘4-year period referred to in 

13 paragraphs (4) and (5)’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit 

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

16 (1) in section 616(e) (as redesignated by sec17 tion 110(a)(1)(B)), by striking ‘‘section 605(g)’’ 

18 each place that term appears and inserting ‘‘section 

19 605(f)’’; and 

20 (2) in section 625(b)(5)(A), by striking ‘‘section 

21 605(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 605(f)’’. 

22 (c) PROHIBITION ON INCLUSION OF ARREST INFOR23 MATION IF THERE IS NO CONVICTION.—Section 605(a) 

24 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), 


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1 as amended by section 809, is further amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(20) Records of an arrest, if the consumer was 

4 not convicted of any crime in connection with the ar5 rest.’’. 

6 SEC. 402. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF FULLY PAID OR SET7 TLED DEBT FROM CONSUMER REPORTS. 

8 Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 401, is further 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new para11 graph: 

12 ‘‘(13) Any other adverse item of information re13 lated to a fully paid or settled debt that had been 

14 characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collec15 tion which, from the date of payment or settlement, 

16 antedates the report by more than 45 calendar 

17 days.’’. 

18 SEC. 403. MEDICAL DEBT COLLECTIONS. 

19 (a) REMOVAL OF FULLY PAID OR SETTLED MED20 ICAL DEBT FROM CONSUMER REPORTS.—Section 605(a) 

21 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), 

22 as amended by section 402, is further amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(14) Any other adverse item of information re25 lated to a fully paid or settled debt arising from the 


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1 receipt of medical services, products, or devices that 

2 had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or 

3 in collection which, from the date of payment or set4 tlement, antedates the report by more than 45 cal5 endar days.’’. 

6 (b) ESTABLISHING AN EXTENDED TIME PERIOD BE7 FORE CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION MAY BE

8 REPORTED.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

9 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by subsection (a), 

10 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(15) Any information related to a debt arising 

13 from the receipt of medical services, products, or de14 vices, if the date on which such debt was placed for 

15 collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to 

16 any similar action antedates the report by less than 

17 365 calendar days.’’. 

18 (c) PROHIBITION ON REPORTING MEDICALLY NEC19 ESSARY PROCEDURES.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit 

20 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by sub21 section (b), is further amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(16) Any information related to a debt arising 

24 from a medically necessary procedure.’’. 


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1 (d) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE DE2 FINED.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 901, is further 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(ee) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE.—The 

6 term ‘medically necessary procedure’ means— 

7 ‘‘(1) health care services or supplies needed to 

8 diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, dis9 ease, or its symptoms and that meet accepted stand10 ards of medicine; and 

11 ‘‘(2) health care to prevent illness or detect ill12 ness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to 

13 work best (including preventive services such as pap 

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

15 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 604(g)(1)(C) 

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

17 1681b(g)(1)(C)) is further amended by striking ‘‘devises’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘devices’’. 

19 SEC. 404. CREDIT RESTORATION FOR VICTIMS OF PREDA20 TORY MORTGAGE LENDING AND SERVICING. 

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

22 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

23 section 605B the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 605C. Credit restoration for victims of predatory 

2 mortgage lending 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency 

4 may not furnish any consumer report containing any ad5 verse item of information relating to a covered residential 

6 mortgage loan (including the origination and servicing of 

7 such a loan, any loss mitigation activities related to such 

8 a loan, and any foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, 

9 or short sale related to such a loan), if the action or inac10 tion to which the item of information relates— 

11 ‘‘(1) resulted from an unfair, deceptive, or abu12 sive act or practice, or a fraudulent, discriminatory, 

13 or illegal activity of a financial institution, as deter14 mined by the Bureau or a court of competent juris15 diction; or 

16 ‘‘(2) is related to an unfair, deceptive, or abu17 sive act, practice, or a fraudulent, discriminatory, or 

18 illegal activity of a financial institution that is the 

19 subject of a settlement agreement initiated on behalf 

20 of a consumer or consumers and that is between the 

21 financial institution and an agency or department of 

22 a local, State, or Federal Government, regardless of 

23 whether such settlement includes an admission of 

24 wrongdoing. 

25 ‘‘(b) COVERED RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN DE26 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘covered residential 


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1 mortgage loan’ means any loan primarily for personal, 

2 family, or household use that is secured by a mortgage, 

3 deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security in4 terest on a dwelling (as defined in section 103(w) of the 

5 Truth in Lending Act), including a loan in which the pro6 ceeds will be used for— 

7 ‘‘(1) a manufactured home (as defined in sec8 tion 603 of the Housing and Community Develop9 ment Act of 1974); 

10 ‘‘(2) any installment sales contract, land con11 tract, or contract for deed on a residential property; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(3) a reverse mortgage transaction (as defined 

14 in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act).’’. 

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

16 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended 

17 by inserting after the item relating to section 605B the 

18 following new item: 

‘‘605C. Credit restoration for victims of predatory mortgage lending.’’. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall take effect at the end of the 18-month 

21 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 405. CREDIT RESTORATION FOR CERTAIN PRIVATE 

23 EDUCATION LOANS BORROWERS. 

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

25 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 404, is 


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1 further amended by inserting after section 605C the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘§ 605D. Credit restoration for certain private edu4 cation loans borrowers 

5 ‘‘(a) PROCESS FOR CERTIFICATION AS A QUALIFYING

6 PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN BORROWER.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer may submit a 

8 request to the Bureau, along with a defraudment 

9 claim, to be certified as a qualifying private edu10 cation loan borrower with respect to a private edu11 cation loan. 

12 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Bureau shall certify 

13 a consumer described in paragraph (1) as a quali14 fying private education loan borrower with respect to 

15 a private education loan if the Bureau or a court of 

16 competent jurisdiction determines that the consumer 

17 has a valid defraudment claim with respect to such 

18 loan. 

19 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL OF ADVERSE INFORMATION.—Upon 

20 receipt of a notice described in subsection (d)(5), a con21 sumer reporting agency shall remove any adverse informa22 tion relating to any private education loan with respect 

23 to which a consumer is a qualifying private education loan 

24 borrower from any consumer report within 45 calendar 

25 days of receipt of such notification. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE.—The Bureau shall disclose the re2 sults of a certification determination in writing to the con3 sumer that provides a clear and concise explanation of the 

4 basis for the determination of whether such consumer is 

5 a qualifying private education loan borrower with respect 

6 to a private education loan and, as applicable, an expla7 nation of the consumer’s right to have adverse information 

8 relating to such loan removed from their consumer report 

9 by a consumer reporting agency. 

10 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—The Bureau shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) establish procedures for a consumer to 

12 submit a request described in subsection (a); 

13 ‘‘(2) establish procedures to efficiently review, 

14 accept, and process such a request; 

15 ‘‘(3) develop ongoing outreach initiatives and 

16 education programs to inform consumers of the cir17 cumstances under which such consumer may be eli18 gible to be certified as a qualifying private education 

19 loan borrower with respect to a private education 

20 loan; 

21 ‘‘(4) establish procedures, including the man22 ner, form, and content of the notice informing a pri23 vate educational loan holder of the prohibition on re24 porting any adverse information relating to a private 


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1 education loan with respect to which a consumer is 

2 a qualifying private education loan borrower; and 

3 ‘‘(5) establish procedures, including the man4 ner, form, and content of the notice informing a con5 sumer reporting agency of the obligation to remove 

6 any adverse information as described in subsection 

7 (c). 

8 ‘‘(e) STANDARDIZED REPORTING CODES.—A con9 sumer reporting agency shall develop standardized report10 ing codes for use by private education loan holders to iden11 tify and report a qualifying private education loan bor12 rower’s status of a request to remove any adverse informa13 tion relating to any private education loan with respect 

14 to which such consumer is a qualifying private education 

15 loan borrower. A consumer report in which a person fur16 nishes such codes shall be deemed to comply with the re17 quirements for accuracy and completeness required under 

18 sections 607(b), 623(a)(1), and 632. Such codes shall not 

19 appear on any report provided to a third party, and shall 

20 be removed from the consumer’s credit report upon the 

21 successful restoration of the consumer’s credit under this 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(f) DEFRAUDMENT CLAIM DEFINED.—For pur24 poses of this section, the term ‘defraudment claim’ means 

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1 rower of a private education loan with respect to a propri2 etary educational institution or career education program 

3 in which the consumer alleges that— 

4 ‘‘(1) the proprietary educational institution or 

5 career education program— 

6 ‘‘(A) engaged in an unfair, deceptive, or 

7 abusive act or practice, or a fraudulent, dis8 criminatory, or illegal activity— 

9 ‘‘(i) as defined by State law of the 

10 State in which the proprietary educational 

11 institution or career education program is 

12 headquartered or maintains or maintained 

13 significant operations; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) under Federal law; 

15 ‘‘(B) is the subject of an enforcement 

16 order, a settlement agreement, a memorandum 

17 of understanding, a suspension of tuition assist18 ance, or any other action relating to an unfair, 

19 deceptive, or abusive act or practice that is be20 tween the proprietary educational institution or 

21 career education program and an agency or de22 partment of a local, State, or Federal Govern23 ment; or 

24 ‘‘(C) misrepresented facts to students or 

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1 uation or gainful employment rates in recog2 nized occupations or failed to provide the 

3 coursework necessary for students to success4 fully obtain a professional certification or de5 gree from the proprietary educational institu6 tion or career education program; or 

7 ‘‘(2) the consumer has submitted a valid de8 fense to repayment claim with respect to such loan, 

9 as determined by the Secretary of Education.’’. 

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

11 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended 

12 by section 404, is further amended by inserting after the 

13 item relating to section 605C the following new item: 

‘‘605D. Credit restoration for certain private education loans borrowers.’’. 

14 SEC. 406. FINANCIAL ABUSE PREVENTION. 

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

16 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 301, is 

17 further amended by inserting after section 605E the fol18 lowing new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 605F. Financial abuse prevention 

20 ‘‘For a consumer who is the victim of intentionally 

21 abusive or harmful financial behavior, as determined by 

22 a court of competent jurisdiction including a family court, 

23 juvenile court, or other court with personal jurisdiction, 

24 that was conducted by a spouse, family or household mem25 ber, caregiver, or person with whom such consumer had 


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1 a dating relationship in a manner which resulted in the 

2 inclusion of an adverse item of information on the con3 sumer report of the consumer, and the consumer did not 

4 participate in or consent to such behavior, the consumer 

5 may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction, including 

6 a family court, juvenile court, or other court with personal 

7 jurisdiction, for an order to require the removal of such 

8 adverse information from the consumer’s file maintained 

9 by any consumer reporting agency.’’. 

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

11 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended 

12 by section 301, is further amended by inserting after the 

13 item relating to section 605E the following new item: 

‘‘605F. Financial abuse prevention.’’. 

14 SEC. 407. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN FACTORS RELATED TO 

15 FEDERAL CREDIT RESTORATION OR REHA16 BILITATION. 

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

18 seq.), as amended by section 502, is further amended— 

19 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec20 tion: 

21 ‘‘§ 632. Prohibition of certain factors related to Fed22 eral credit restoration or rehabilitation 

23 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON CREDIT SCORING MODELS.— 

24 A credit scoring model may not— 


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1 ‘‘(1) take into consideration, in a manner ad2 verse to a consumer’s credit score or educational 

3 credit score, any information in a consumer report 

4 concerning the consumer’s participation in credit 

5 restoration or rehabilitation under section 605C, 

6 605D, or 605E; or 

7 ‘‘(2) treat negatively, in a manner adverse to a 

8 consumer’s credit score or educational credit score, 

9 the absence of payment history data for an existing 

10 account, whether the account is open or closed, 

11 where the absence of such information is the result 

12 of a consumer’s participation in credit restoration or 

13 rehabilitation under section 605C, 605D, or 605E. 

14 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON PERSONS OBTAINING CON15 SUMER REPORTS.—A person who obtains a consumer re16 port may not— 

17 ‘‘(1) take into consideration, in a manner ad18 verse to a consumer, any information in a consumer 

19 report concerning the consumer’s participation in 

20 credit restoration or rehabilitation under section 

21 605C, 605D, or 605E; or 

22 ‘‘(2) treat negatively the absence of payment 

23 history data for an existing account, whether the ac24 count is open or closed, where the absence of such 

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1 tion in credit restoration or rehabilitation under sec2 tion 605C, 605D, or 605E. 

3 ‘‘(c) ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS.—If a person 

4 who furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency 

5 requests the removal of information from a consumer re6 port or a consumer reporting agency removes information 

7 from a consumer report in compliance with the require8 ments under section 605C, 605D, or 605E, or such infor9 mation was removed pursuant at section 605(a)(11), such 

10 report shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements for ac11 curacy and completeness with respect to such information. 

12 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION RELATED TO ADVERSE ACTIONS

13 AND RISK-BASED PRICING DECISIONS.—No person shall 

14 use information related to a consumer’s participation in 

15 credit restoration or rehabilitation under section 605C, 

16 605D, or 605E in connection with any determination of— 

17 ‘‘(1) the consumer’s eligibility or continued eli18 gibility for an extension of credit; 

19 ‘‘(2) the terms and conditions offered to a con20 sumer regarding an extension of credit; or 

21 ‘‘(3) an adverse action made for employment 

22 purposes.’’; and 

23 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by in24 serting after the item relating to section 631 the fol25 lowing new item: 


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‘‘632. Prohibition of certain factors related to Federal credit restoration or rehabilitation.’’. 

1 TITLE V—CLARITY IN CREDIT 

2 SCORE FORMATION 

3 SEC. 501. CONSUMER BUREAU STUDY AND REPORT TO 

4 CONGRESS ON THE IMPACT OF NON-TRADI5 TIONAL DATA. 

6 (a) STUDY.—The Bureau of Consumer Financial 

7 Protection shall carry out a study to assess the impact 

8 (including the availability and affordability of credit and 

9 other noncredit decisions, the potential positive and nega10 tive impacts on consumer credit scores, and any unin11 tended consequences) of using traditional modeling tech12 niques or alternative modeling techniques to analyze non13 traditional data from a consumer report and of including 

14 non-traditional data on consumer reports on the following: 

15 (1) Consumers with no or minimal traditional 

16 credit history. 

17 (2) Traditionally underserved communities and 

18 populations. 

19 (3) Consumers residing in rural areas. 

20 (4) Consumers residing in urban areas. 

21 (5) Racial and ethnic minorities and women. 

22 (6) Consumers across various income strata, 

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1 cent of the area median income (as defined by the 

2 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development). 

3 (7) Immigrants, refugees, and non-permanent 

4 residents. 

5 (8) Minority financial institutions (as defined 

6 under section 308(b) of the Financial Institutions 

7 Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 

8 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note)) and community financial in9 stitutions. 

10 (9) Consumers residing in federally assisted 

11 housing, including consumers receiving Federal rent12 al subsidies. 

13 (b) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In assessing 

14 impacts under subsection (a), the Bureau of Consumer Fi15 nancial Protection shall also consider impacts on— 

16 (1) the privacy, security, and confidentiality of 

17 the financial, medical, and personally identifiable in18 formation of consumers; 

19 (2) the control of consumers over how such in20 formation may or will be used or considered; 

21 (3) the understanding of consumers of how 

22 such information may be used or considered and the 

23 ease with which a consumer may decide to restrict 

24 or prohibit such use or consideration of such infor25 mation; 


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1 (4) potential discriminatory effects; and 

2 (5) disparate outcomes the use or consideration 

3 of such information may cause. 

4 (c) CONSIDERATION OF RECENT GOVERNMENT

5 STUDIES.—In assessing impacts under subsection (a), the 

6 Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall also con7 sider recent Government studies on alternative data, in8 cluding— 

9 (1) the report of the Bureau of Consumer Fi10 nancial Protection titled ‘‘CFPB Data Point: Be11 coming Credit Visible’’ (published June 2017); and 

12 (2) the report of the Comptroller General of the 

13 United States titled ‘‘Financial Technology: Agen14 cies Should Provide Clarification on Lenders’ Use of 

15 Alternative Data’’ (published December 2018). 

16 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer Fi18 nancial Protection shall issue a report to the Committee 

19 on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

21 of the Senate containing all findings and determinations, 

22 including any recommendations for any legislative or regu23 latory changes, made in carrying out the study required 

24 under subsection (a). 

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ALTERNATIVE MODELING TECHNIQUES.— 

2 The term ‘‘alternative modeling techniques’’ means 

3 statistical and mathematical techniques that are not 

4 traditional modeling techniques, including decision 

5 trees, random forests, artificial neutral networks, 

6 nearest neighbor, genetic programming, and boost7 ing algorithms. 

8 (2) CONSUMER REPORT.—The term ‘‘consumer 

9 report’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

10 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 1681a). 

12 (3) NON-TRADITIONAL DATA.—The term ‘‘non13 traditional data’’ means data related to tele14 communications, utility payments, rent payments, 

15 remittances, wire transfers, data not otherwise regu16 larly included in consumer reports issued by con17 sumer reporting agencies described under section 

18 603(p), and such other items as the Bureau of Con19 sumer Financial Protection deems appropriate. 

20 (4) TRADITIONAL MODELING TECHNIQUES.— 

21 The term ‘‘traditional modeling techniques’’ means 

22 statistical and mathematical techniques (including 

23 models, algorithms, linear and logistic regression 

24 methods, and their outputs) that are traditionally 

25 used in automated underwriting processes. 


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1 SEC. 502. CONSUMER BUREAU OVERSIGHT OF CREDIT 

2 SCORING MODELS. 

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

4 seq.), as amended by section 701, is further amended— 

5 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec6 tion: 

7 ‘‘§ 631. Credit scoring models 

8 ‘‘(a) VALIDATED CREDIT SCORING MODELS.—Not 

9 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

10 section, the Bureau shall (in consultation with the Board 

11 of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comp12 troller of the Currency, the Board of Directors of the Fed13 eral Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National 

14 Credit Union Administration Board) issue final regula15 tions applicable to any person that creates, maintains, uti16 lizes, or purchases credit scoring models used in making 

17 credit decisions to establish standards for validating the 

18 accuracy and predictive value of all such credit scoring 

19 models, both before release for initial use and at regular 

20 intervals thereafter, for as long as such credit scoring 

21 models are made available for purchase or use by such 

22 person. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—At least once every 2 years, the 

24 Bureau shall conduct a review of credit scoring models to 

25 determine whether the use of any particular factors, or 

26 the weight or consideration given to certain factors by 


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1 credit scoring models, is inappropriate, including if such 

2 factors do not enhance or contribute to the accuracy and 

3 predictive value of the models. Upon the conclusion of its 

4 review, the Bureau may prohibit a person described in 

5 subsection (a) from weighing, considering, or including 

6 certain factors in, or making available for purchase or use, 

7 certain credit scoring models or versions, as the Bureau 

8 determines appropriate.’’; and 

9 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as 

10 amended by section 701, by adding after the item 

11 relating to section 630 the following new item: 

‘‘631. Credit scoring models.’’. 

12 SEC. 503. REVIEW OF CHANGES TO CREDIT SCORING MOD13 ELS. 

14 Section 631 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as added by section 502, is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF CHANGES TO CREDIT SCORING

18 MODELS.—With respect to a person that creates credit 

19 scoring models used in making credit decisions, if such 

20 person creates a new credit scoring model (including a re21 vision to an existing scoring model) that would, when com22 pared to previous credit scoring models created by such 

23 person, lower the credit scores of a class of consumers, 

24 the Director of the Bureau may review such new credit 

25 scoring model and, if the Director determines that such 


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1 new credit scoring model is inappropriate (including, with 

2 respect to a revision to an existing scoring model, if such 

3 revision does not enhance or contribute to the accuracy 

4 and predictive value of the existing scoring model), the Di5 rector may prohibit such new credit scoring model.’’. 

6 TITLE VI—RESTRICTIONS ON 

7 CREDIT CHECKS FOR EM8 PLOYMENT DECISIONS 

9 SEC. 601. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF CREDIT INFORMA10 TION FOR MOST EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit 

12 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting ‘‘, sub14 ject to the requirements of subsection (b)’’ after 

15 ‘‘purposes’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by amending the paragraph head19 ing to read as follows: ‘‘USE OF CON20 SUMER REPORTS FOR EMPLOYMENT PUR21 POSES’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by redesig23 nating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) 

24 and (II), respectively (and conforming the 

25 margins accordingly); 


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1 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec3 tively (and conforming the margins accord4 ingly); 

5 (iv) by striking the period at the end 

6 of clause (ii) (as so redesignated) and in7 serting ‘‘; and’’; 

8 (v) by striking ‘‘agency may furnish’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘agency— 

10 ‘‘(A) may furnish’’; and 

11 (vi) by adding at the end the following 

12 new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), 

14 may not furnish a consumer report for employ15 ment purposes, including for the purpose of de16 nying employment, with respect to any con17 sumer in which any information contained in 

18 the report bears on the consumer’s credit19 worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity.’’; 

20 and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraphs: 

23 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSUMER REPORTS

24 BEARING ON THE CONSUMER’S CREDITWORTHINESS, 

25 CREDIT STANDING, OR CREDIT CAPACITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person may use a 

2 consumer report for employment purposes with 

3 respect to any consumer in which any informa4 tion contained in the report bears on the con5 sumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, or 

6 credit capacity only if— 

7 ‘‘(i)(I) the person is required to obtain 

8 the report by a Federal, State, or local law 

9 or regulation; 

10 ‘‘(II) the information contained in the 

11 report is being used with respect to a na12 tional security investigation (as defined in 

13 paragraph (4)(D)); or 

14 ‘‘(III) the report is necessary for a 

15 background check or related investigation 

16 of financial information that is required by 

17 a Federal, State, or local law or regulation; 

18 ‘‘(ii) none of the cost associated with 

19 obtaining the consumer report will be 

20 passed on to the consumer to whom the re21 port relates; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the information contained in the 

23 consumer report will not be disclosed to 

24 any other person other than— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in an aggregate format that 

2 protects a consumer’s personally iden3 tifiable information; or 

4 ‘‘(II) as may be necessary to 

5 comply with any applicable Federal, 

6 State, or local equal employment op7 portunity law or regulation. 

8 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURES.—A person who pro9 cures, or causes to be procured, a consumer re10 port described in subparagraph (A) for employ11 ment purposes shall, in the disclosure made 

12 pursuant to paragraph (2), include— 

13 ‘‘(i) an explanation that a consumer 

14 report is being obtained for employment 

15 purposes; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the reasons for obtaining such a 

17 report; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the citation to the applicable 

19 Federal, State, or local law or regulation 

20 described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I). 

21 ‘‘(C) ADVERSE ACTIONS.—In using a con22 sumer report described in subparagraph (A) for 

23 employment purposes and before taking an ad24 verse action based in whole or in part on the re25 port, the person intending to take such adverse 


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1 action shall, in addition to the information de2 scribed in paragraph (3), provide to the con3 sumer to whom the report relates— 

4 ‘‘(i) the name, address, and telephone 

5 number of the consumer reporting agency 

6 that furnished the report (including, for a 

7 consumer reporting agency that compiles 

8 and maintains files on consumers on a na9 tionwide basis, a toll-free telephone number 

10 established by such agency); 

11 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the report was 

12 furnished; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the specific factors from the re14 port upon which the adverse action (as de15 fined in section 603(k)(1)(B)(ii)) was 

16 based. 

17 ‘‘(D) NATIONAL SECURITY INVESTIGA18 TIONS.—The requirements of paragraph (4) 

19 shall apply to a consumer report described 

20 under subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(E) NON-CIRCUMVENTION.—With respect 

22 to a consumer report in which any information 

23 contained in the report bears on the consumer’s 

24 creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit ca25 pacity, if a person is prohibited from using the 


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1 consumer report pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

2 such person may not, directly or indirectly, ei3 ther orally or in writing, require, request, sug4 gest, or cause any employee or prospective em5 ployee to submit such information to the person 

6 as a condition of employment. 

7 ‘‘(F) NON-WAIVER.—A consumer may not 

8 waive the requirements of this paragraph with 

9 respect to a consumer report. 

10 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

11 this subsection shall be construed to require a con12 sumer reporting agency to prevent a Federal, State, 

13 or local law enforcement agency from accessing in14 formation in a consumer report to which the law en15 forcement agency could otherwise obtain access.’’. 

16 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The Fair Credit Re17 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘section 604(b)(4)(E)(i)’’ each place such term ap19 pears and inserting ‘‘section 604(b)(4)(D)(i)’’. 

20 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments 

21 made by this Act may not be construed as limiting the 

22 ability of a person to use non-financial or non-credit re23 lated consumer report information. 


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1 TITLE VII—PROHIBITION ON 

2 MISLEADING AND UNFAIR 

3 CONSUMER REPORTING 

4 PRACTICES 

5 SEC. 701. PROHIBITION ON AUTOMATIC RENEWALS FOR 

6 PROMOTIONAL CONSUMER REPORTING AND 

7 CREDIT SCORING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

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

9 seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec11 tion: 

12 ‘‘§ 630. Promotional periods 

13 ‘‘(a) TERMINATION NOTICE.—With respect to any 

14 product or service related to a consumer report or a credit 

15 score that is provided to a consumer under promotional 

16 terms, the seller or provider of such product or service 

17 shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to the consumer 

18 within a reasonable period of time before the promotional 

19 period ends. 

20 ‘‘(b) OPT-IN.—With respect to any such product or 

21 service, the seller or provider may not continue to sell or 

22 provide such product or service to the consumer after the 

23 end of the promotional period unless the consumer specifi24 cally agrees at the end of the promotional period to con25 tinue receiving the product or service.’’; and 


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1 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by in2 serting after the item relating to section 629 the fol3 lowing new item: 

‘‘630. Promotional periods.’’. 

4 SEC. 702. PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE 

5 MARKETING RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF 

6 CONSUMER REPORTING AND CREDIT SCOR7 ING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

8 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681g), as amended by section 206, is further 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘request, except’’ and 

14 all that follows through ‘‘consumer to 

15 whom’’ and inserting ‘‘request, unless the 

16 consumer to whom’’; 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘disclosure; and’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘disclosure.’’; and 

19 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

20 and 

21 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘or edu22 cational credit score (if applicable) under sub23 section (f) or section 612’’ before the period at 

24 the end; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(j) DISCLOSURES ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.— 

4 The Bureau, in consultation with the Federal Trade Com5 mission, shall issue regulations within 18 months of the 

6 date of the enactment of this subsection requiring each 

7 consumer reporting agency and reseller to clearly and con8 spicuously disclose all material terms and conditions, in9 cluding any fee and pricing information associated with 

10 any products or services offered, advertised, marketed, or 

11 sold to consumers by the agency or reseller. Such disclo12 sures shall be made in all forms of communication to con13 sumers and displayed prominently on the agency or re14 seller’s website and all other locations where products or 

15 services are offered, advertised, marketed, or sold to con16 sumers.’’. 

17 SEC. 703. PROHIBITION ON EXCESSIVE DIRECT-TO-CON18 SUMER SALES. 

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

20 seq.), as amended by section 407, is further amended— 

21 (1) by adding after section 632 the following 

22 new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 633. Fair and reasonable fees for products and 

2 services 

3 ‘‘The Bureau may, with respect to any product or 

4 service offered by a consumer reporting agency to a con5 sumer, set a fair and reasonable maximum fee that may 

6 be charged for such product or service, except where such 

7 maximum fee is otherwise provided under this title.’’; and 

8 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by 

9 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘633. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services.’’. 

10 SEC. 704. FAIR ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTING AND 

11 CREDIT SCORING DISCLOSURES FOR NON12 NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND THE VIS13 UALLY AND HEARING IMPAIRED. 

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

15 seq.), as amended by section 903, is further amended— 

16 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec17 tion: 

18 ‘‘§ 635. Fair access to information for nonnative 

19 English speakers and the visually and 

20 hearing impaired 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this section, the Bureau shall 

23 issue a rule to require consumer reporting agencies and 

24 persons who furnish information to consumer reporting 


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1 agencies under this title, to the maximum extent reason2 ably practicable— 

3 ‘‘(1) to provide any information, disclosures, or 

4 other communication with consumers— 

5 ‘‘(A) in each of the 10 most commonly spo6 ken languages, other than English, in the 

7 United States, as determined by the Bureau of 

8 the Census on an ongoing basis; and 

9 ‘‘(B) in formats accessible to individuals 

10 with hearing or vision impairments; and 

11 ‘‘(2) to ensure that— 

12 ‘‘(A) customer service representatives, in13 cluding employees assigned to handle disputes 

14 or appeals under sections 611 and 623, who are 

15 available to assist consumers are highly familiar 

16 with the requirements of this title; 

17 ‘‘(B) such representatives are available 

18 during regular business hours and outside of 

19 regular business hours, including evenings and 

20 weekends; and 

21 ‘‘(C) at least one among such representa22 tives is fluent in each of the 10 most commonly 

23 spoken languages, other than English, in the 

24 United States, as determined by the Bureau of 

25 the Census on an ongoing basis. 


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1 ‘‘(b) BUREAU CONSULTATION.—The Bureau shall 

2 consult with advocates for civil rights, consumer groups, 

3 community groups, and organizations that serve tradition4 ally underserved communities and populations in issuing 

5 the rule described in subsection (a).’’; and 

6 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by 

7 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘635. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers and the visually 

and hearing impaired.’’. 

8 SEC. 705. COMPARISON SHOPPING FOR LOANS WITHOUT 

9 HARM TO CREDIT STANDING. 

10 Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 1681c), as amended by section 401, is further 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(h) ENCOURAGING COMPARISON SHOPPING FOR

15 LOANS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to multiple 

17 enquiries of the same type made to a consumer re18 porting agency for a consumer report or credit score 

19 with respect to a consumer, any credit scoring model 

20 shall treat such enquiries as a single enquiry if the 

21 enquiries are made within a 120-day period. 

22 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ENQUIRIES OF THE SAME

23 TYPE.—With respect to multiple enquiries made to 

24 a consumer reporting agency for a consumer report 


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1 or credit score with respect to a consumer, such 

2 enquiries are ‘of the same type’ if the consumer re3 porting agency has reason to believe that the 

4 enquiries are all made for the purpose of deter5 mining the consumer’s creditworthiness for an exten6 sion of credit described in one of the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) A covered residential mortgage loan 

8 (as defined in section 605C). 

9 ‘‘(B) A motor vehicle loan or lease (as de10 scribed in section 609(i)). 

11 ‘‘(C) A private education loan. 

12 ‘‘(D) Any other consumer financial product 

13 or service, as determined by the Bureau.’’. 

14 SEC. 706. NATIONWIDE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES 

15 REGISTRY. 

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

17 seq.), as amended by section 704, is further amended— 

18 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec19 tion: 

20 ‘‘§ 636. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies reg21 istry 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this section, the Bureau shall estab24 lish and maintain a publicly accessible registry of con25 sumer reporting agencies described in subsection (p) or 


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1 (x) of section 603 (and any other agencies the Bureau de2 termines provide similar services to such consumer report3 ing agencies) that includes current contact information of 

4 each such agency, including the Internet website address 

5 of the Internet website described under section 611(h), 

6 and information on how consumers can obtain their con7 sumer report, credit scores, or educational credit scores 

8 (as applicable) by toll-free telephone, postal mail, or elec9 tronic means. 

10 ‘‘(b) REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS.—The registry de11 scribed in subsection (a) shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) identify the largest agencies and the mar13 kets and demographics covered by such agencies; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) disclose, with respect to each agency, 

16 whether the agency is subject to the supervisory au17 thority of the Bureau under this title. 

18 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION UPDATES.—Each agency de19 scribed under subsection (a) shall submit to the Bureau 

20 contact information for the registry, including any updates 

21 to such information. The Bureau shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) independently verify information submitted 

23 by each agency; and 

24 ‘‘(2) update the registry not less frequently 

25 than annually.’’; and 


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1 (2) in the table of contents for such Act by add2 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘636. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry.’’. 

3 SEC. 707. PROTECTION FOR CERTAIN CONSUMERS AF4 FECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A

6 SHUTDOWN.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 901, is fur8 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(ff) EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.— 

10 With respect to a shutdown, the term ‘employee affected 

11 by a shutdown’ means a consumer who— 

12 ‘‘(1) is an employee of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Federal Government, and who is 

14 furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 

15 the shutdown; 

16 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia, and who is 

17 furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 

18 the shutdown; 

19 ‘‘(C) the District of Columbia Courts, and 

20 who is furloughed or excepted from a furlough 

21 during the shutdown; 

22 ‘‘(D) the Public Defender Service for the 

23 District of Columbia, and who is furloughed or 

24 excepted from a furlough during the shutdown; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(E) a Federal contractor (as defined 

2 under section 7101 of title 41, United States 

3 Code) or other business, and who has experi4 enced a substantial reduction in pay (directly or 

5 indirectly) due to the shutdown; and 

6 ‘‘(2) who— 

7 ‘‘(A) is listed in the database established 

8 under section 63; or 

9 ‘‘(B) has self-certified pursuant to such 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(gg) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘shutdown’ means any 

12 period in which there is more than a 24-hour lapse in ap13 propriations as a result of a failure to enact a regular ap14 propriations bill or continuing resolution. 

15 ‘‘(hh) COVERED SHUTDOWN PERIOD.—The term 

16 ‘covered shutdown period’ means, with respect to a shut17 down, the period beginning on the first day of the shut18 down and ending on the date that is 90 days after the 

19 last day of the shutdown.’’. 

20 (b) EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A

21 SHUTDOWN.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 809, is 

23 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(18) Any adverse item of information with re25 spect to an action or inaction taken during a covered 


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1 shutdown period by an employee affected by a shut2 down.’’. 

3 (c) AMENDMENT TO SUMMARY OF RIGHTS FOR EM4 PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—Section 609(a) 

5 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(7) Information on the rights of an employee 

8 affected by a shutdown, including which consumers 

9 may be an employee affected by a shutdown and the 

10 process for a consumer to self-certify as an employee 

11 affected by a shutdown under section 637.’’. 

12 (d) DATABASE AND SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR EM13 PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 

16 706, is further amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 637. Database and self-certification for employees 

19 affected by a shutdown 

20 ‘‘(a) DATABASE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each shut22 down, the consumer reporting agencies described in 

23 section 603(p) shall jointly establish a database that 

24 includes employees affected by the shutdown as re25 ported pursuant to paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF DATABASE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES AND CON3 TRACTORS.—Each authority of the executive, 

4 legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal 

5 Government or District of Columbia shall pro6 vide to the consumer reporting agencies de7 scribed in section 603(p) a list identifying— 

8 ‘‘(i) employees of such authority that 

9 are furloughed, excepted from furlough, or 

10 not receiving pay because of a shutdown; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, employ13 ees of contractors of such authority. 

14 ‘‘(B) SELF-CERTIFIED CONSUMERS.—A 

15 consumer that self-certifies as an employee af16 fected by a shutdown pursuant to subsection 

17 (b) shall be included in the database, unless the 

18 Bureau determines such consumer is not an 

19 employee affected by a shutdown. 

20 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO DATABASE.—The consumer re21 porting agencies described in section 603(p) shall 

22 make the database established under this subsection 

23 available to the Bureau, other consumer reporting 

24 agencies, furnishers of information to consumer re25 porting agencies, and users of consumer reports. A 


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1 consumer reporting agency described in section 

2 603(x) shall periodically access the database to con3 firm the accuracy of information such an agency has 

4 that identifies a consumer as an employee affected 

5 by a shutdown. 

6 ‘‘(b) SELF-CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—A consumer 

7 shall be deemed to be an employee affected by a shutdown 

8 if such consumer self-certifies through— 

9 ‘‘(1) the website established under subsection 

10 (c); or 

11 ‘‘(2) a toll-free telephone number established by 

12 a consumer reporting agency. 

13 ‘‘(c) WEBSITE.—The consumer reporting agencies 

14 described in section 603(p) shall jointly establish a website 

15 for a consumer to self-certify as an employee affected by 

16 a shutdown. Such website may not include any advertise17 ment or other solicitation. 

18 ‘‘(d) OPT-OUT.—The consumer reporting agencies 

19 described in section 603(p) shall provided a process 

20 through the website described under subsection (c) for 

21 consumers to opt-out of having their name included in the 

22 database established under this section.’’. 

23 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The 

24 table of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 


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1 as amended by section 706, is further amended by 

2 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘637. Database and self-certification for employees affected by a shutdown.’’. 

3 (e) PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST

4 EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—Section 604 

5 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST

8 EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—If a user of 

9 a consumer report knows that a consumer is an employee 

10 affected by a shutdown, such user may not take an adverse 

11 action based on— 

12 ‘‘(1) any adverse item of information contained 

13 in such report with respect to an action or inaction 

14 taken during a covered shutdown period by the em15 ployee; or 

16 ‘‘(2) information on the consumer included in 

17 the database established under section 637.’’. 

18 (f) BUREAU REGULATIONS OR GUIDANCE.—Not 

19 later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

21 Protection shall issue rules or guidance, as appropriate, 

22 to carry out the requirements of this Act. 


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1 TITLE VIII—PROTECTIONS 

2 AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT, 

3 FRAUD, OR A RELATED 

4 CRIME 

5 SEC. 801. IDENTITY THEFT REPORT DEFINITION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 603(q) 

7 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(4)) 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(4) IDENTITY THEFT REPORT.—The term 

10 ‘identity theft report’ has the meaning given that 

11 term by rule of the Bureau, and means, at a min12 imum, a report— 

13 ‘‘(A) that is a standardized affidavit that 

14 alleges that a consumer has been a victim of 

15 identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, or has 

16 been harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of 

17 the consumer’s financial or personally identifi18 able information, that was developed and made 

19 available by the Bureau; or 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) that alleges an identity theft, 

21 fraud, or a related crime, or alleges harm from 

22 the unauthorized disclosure of the consumer’s 

23 financial or personally identifiable information; 

24 ‘‘(ii) that is a copy of an official, valid re25 port filed by a consumer with an appropriate 


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1 Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency 

2 (including the United States Postal Inspection 

3 Service), or such other government agency 

4 deemed appropriate by the Bureau; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the filing of which subjects the per6 son filing the report to criminal penalties relat7 ing to the filing of false information if the in8 formation in the report is actually false.’’. 

9 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than the end of the 2- 

10 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

12 Protection shall issue final rules to carry out the amend13 ment made by subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 802. AMENDMENT TO PROTECTION FOR FILES AND 

15 CREDIT RECORDS OF PROTECTED CON16 SUMERS. 

17 (a) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF ‘‘FILE’’.—Sec18 tion 603(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 1681a(g)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except that such 

20 term excludes a record created pursuant to section 

21 605A(j)’’ after ‘‘stored’’. 

22 (b) AMENDMENT TO PROTECTION FOR FILES AND

23 CREDIT RECORDS.—Section 605A(j) of the Fair Credit 

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

25 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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

2 ‘‘an incapacitated person or a protected person’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘a person’’; and 

4 (B) by amending subparagraph (E) to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(E) The term ‘security freeze’— 

7 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given in sub8 section (i)(1)(C); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a protected con10 sumer for whom the consumer reporting 

11 agency does not have a file, means a 

12 record that is subject to a security freeze 

13 that a consumer reporting agency is pro14 hibited from disclosing to any person re15 questing the consumer report for the pur16 pose of opening a new account involving 

17 the extension of credit.’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (4)(D), by striking ‘‘a pro19 tected consumer or a protected consumer’s rep20 resentative under subparagraph (A)(i)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘a protected consumer described under subpara22 graph (A)(ii) or a protected consumer’s representa23 tive’’. 


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1 SEC. 803. ENHANCEMENT TO FRAUD ALERT PROTECTIONS. 

2 Section 605A of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 1681c–1) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘ONE-CALL’’ and inserting ‘‘1-YEAR’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik9 ing ‘‘INITIAL ALERTS’’ and inserting ‘‘IN

10 GENERAL’’; 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or has been or is 

12 about to be harmed by the unauthorized 

13 disclosure of the consumer’s financial or 

14 personally identifiable information,’’ after 

15 ‘‘identity theft,’’; 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (I) by inserting ‘‘(which period 

18 may be extended upon request of the 

19 consumer or such representative)’’ 

20 after ‘‘1 year’’; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (iv) in subparagraph (B)— 

23 (I) by inserting ‘‘1-year’’ before 

24 ‘‘fraud alert’’; and 

25 (II) by striking the period at the 

26 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (v) by adding at the end the following 

2 new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) upon the expiration of the period de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) or any extension of 

5 such period, and in response to a direct request 

6 by the consumer or such representative, con7 tinue the fraud alert for a period of 1 addi8 tional year if the information asserted in this 

9 paragraph remains applicable.’’; and 

10 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in12 serting ‘‘AND CREDIT OR EDUCATIONAL

13 CREDIT SCORES’’ after ‘‘REPORTS’’; 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘1-year’’ before 

15 ‘‘fraud alert’’; 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

17 ‘‘and credit score or educational credit 

18 score’’ after ‘‘file’’; and 

19 (iv) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘any request described in subparagraph 

21 (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘the consumer report22 ing agency includes the 1-year fraud alert 

23 in the file of a consumer’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘7-YEAR’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

5 ‘‘(which period may be extended upon re6 quest of the consumer or such representa7 tive)’’ after ‘‘7-year period beginning on 

8 the date of such request’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘the 5-year period 

11 beginning on the date of such re12 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘such 7-year pe13 riod (including any extension of such 

14 period)’’; and 

15 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (C)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘extended’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘7-year’’; and 

19 (II) by striking the period at the 

20 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

22 new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(D) upon the expiration of such 7-year 

24 period or any extension of such period, and in 

25 response to a direct request by the consumer or 


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1 such representative, continue the fraud alert for 

2 a period of 7 additional years if the consumer 

3 or such representative submits an updated iden4 tity theft report.’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in7 serting ‘‘AND CREDIT OR EDUCATIONAL

8 CREDIT SCORES’’ after ‘‘REPORTS’’; and 

9 (ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) disclose to the consumer that the con12 sumer may request a free copy of the file and 

13 credit score or educational credit score of the 

14 consumer pursuant to section 612(d) during 

15 each 12-month period beginning on the date on 

16 which the 7-year fraud alert was included in the 

17 file and ending on the date of the last day that 

18 the 7-year fraud alert applies to the consumer’s 

19 file; and’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or edu22 cational credit score’’ after ‘‘credit score’’; 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

24 and (3), as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), 


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1 respectively (and conforming the margins ac2 cordingly); 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘Upon the direct request’’ 

4 and inserting: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the direct request’’; 

6 and 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO FREE REPORTS AND CREDIT

10 OR EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORES.—If a consumer 

11 reporting agency includes an active duty alert in the 

12 file of an active duty uniformed consumer, the con13 sumer reporting agency shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) disclose to the active duty uniformed 

15 consumer that the active duty uniformed con16 sumer may request a free copy of the file and 

17 credit score or educational credit score of the 

18 active duty uniformed consumer pursuant to 

19 section 612(d), during each 12-month period 

20 beginning on the date that the activity duty 

21 alert is requested and ending on the date of the 

22 last day the active duty alert applies to the file 

23 of the active duty uniformed consumer; and 

24 ‘‘(B) provide to the active duty uniformed 

25 consumer all disclosures required to be made 


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1 under section 609, without charge to the con2 sumer, not later than 3 business days after any 

3 request described in subparagraph (A).’’; 

4 (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—Each consumer reporting agen7 cy described in section 603(p) shall include on the 

8 webpage required under subsection (i) policies and proce9 dures to comply with this section, including policies and 

10 procedures— 

11 ‘‘(1) that inform consumers of the availability 

12 of 1-year fraud alerts, 7-year fraud alerts, active 

13 duty alerts, and security freezes (as applicable); 

14 ‘‘(2) that allow consumers to request 1-year 

15 fraud alerts, 7-year fraud alerts, and active duty 

16 alerts (as applicable) and to place, temporarily lift, 

17 or fully remove a security freeze in a simple and 

18 easy manner; and 

19 ‘‘(3) for asserting in good faith a suspicion that 

20 the consumer has been or is about to become a vic21 tim of identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, or 

22 harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of the con23 sumer’s financial or personally identifiable informa24 tion, for a consumer seeking a 1-year fraud alert or 

25 security freeze.’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘1-year or 7- 

2 year’’ before ‘‘fraud alert’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘or active duty 

4 alert’’ and inserting ‘‘active duty alert, or security 

5 freeze (as applicable)’’; 

6 (7) in subsection (g)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘or has been harmed by 

8 the unauthorized disclosure of the consumer’s 

9 financial or personally identifiable information, 

10 or to inform such agency of the consumer’s par11 ticipation in credit restoration or rehabilitation 

12 under section 605C, 605D, or 605E,’’ after 

13 ‘‘identity theft,’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘or security freezes’’ after 

15 ‘‘request alerts’’; 

16 (8) in subsection (h)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik19 ing ‘‘INITIAL’’ and inserting ‘‘1-YEAR’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘initial’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘1-year’’ each place such term appears; 

22 and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik2 ing ‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘7-YEAR’’; 

3 and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘extended’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘7-year’’ each place such term appears; 

6 and 

7 (9) in subsection (i)(4)— 

8 (A) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (I); 

9 and 

10 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F), 

11 (G), (H), and (J) as subparagraphs (E), (F), 

12 (G), and (H), respectively. 

13 SEC. 804. AMENDMENT TO SECURITY FREEZES FOR CON14 SUMER REPORTS. 

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

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

17 (1) by amending the subsection heading to read 

18 as follows: ‘‘SECURITY FREEZES FOR CONSUMER

19 REPORTS’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (3)(E), by striking ‘‘Upon re21 ceiving’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subparagraph 

22 (C),’’ and inserting ‘‘Upon receiving a direct request 

23 from a consumer for a temporary removal of a secu24 rity freeze, a consumer reporting agency shall’’; 

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


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1 ‘‘(7) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—This sub2 section does not modify or supersede the laws of any 

3 State relating to security freezes or other similar ac4 tions, except to the extent those laws are incon5 sistent with any provision of this title, and then only 

6 to the extent of the inconsistency. For purposes of 

7 this subsection, a term or provision of a State law 

8 is not inconsistent with the provisions of this sub9 section if the term or provision affords greater pro10 tection to the consumer than the protection provided 

11 under this subsection as determined by the Bu12 reau.’’. 

13 (b) AMENDMENT TO WEBPAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 Section 605A(i)(6)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

15 (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(i)(6)(A)) is amended— 

16 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘initial fraud 

17 alert’’ and inserting ‘‘1-year fraud alert’’; 

18 (2) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘extended fraud 

19 alert’’ and inserting ‘‘7-year fraud alert’’; and 

20 (3) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘fraud’’. 

21 (c) AMENDMENT TO EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN

22 PERSONS.—Section 605A(i)(4)(A) of the Fair Credit Re23 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(i)(4)(A)) is amended to 

24 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A person, or the person’s subsidiary, 

2 affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee with 

3 whom the consumer has, or prior to assignment 

4 had, an authorized account, contract, or debtor5 creditor relationship for the purposes of review6 ing the active account or collecting the financial 

7 obligation owed on the account, contract, or 

8 debt.’’. 

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

10 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact11 ment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 805. CLARIFICATION OF INFORMATION TO BE IN13 CLUDED WITH AGENCY DISCLOSURES. 

14 Section 609(c)(2) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

15 (15 U.S.C. 1681g(c)(2)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘consumer reporting agen18 cy described in section 603(p)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘consumer reporting agency described in sub20 section (p) or (x) of section 603’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘the agency’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘such an agency’’; and 

23 (C) by inserting ‘‘and an Internet website 

24 address’’ after ‘‘hours’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘outdated 

2 under section 605 or’’ and inserting ‘‘outdated, re3 quired to be removed, or’’. 

4 SEC. 806. PROVIDES ACCESS TO FRAUD RECORDS FOR VIC5 TIMS. 

6 Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 1681g(e)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘resulting from identity 

10 theft’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘claim of identity theft’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘claim of fraudulent activity’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘any transaction alleged to 

15 be a result of identity theft’’ and inserting ‘‘any 

16 fraudulent transaction’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘identity theft, at the elec19 tion of the business entity’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘fraudulent activity’’; 

21 (B) by amending clause (i) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(i) a copy of an identity theft report; 

24 or’’; and 


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1 (C) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(ii) an affidavit of fact that is ac4 ceptable to the business entity for that 

5 purpose.’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘identity 

7 theft’’ and inserting ‘‘fraudulent activity’’; 

8 (4) by striking paragraph (8) and redesignating 

9 paragraphs (9) through (13) as paragraphs (8) 

10 through (12), respectively; and 

11 (5) in paragraph (10) (as so redesignated), by 

12 striking ‘‘or a similar crime’’ and inserting ‘‘, fraud, 

13 or a related crime’’. 

14 SEC. 807. REQUIRED BUREAU TO SET PROCEDURES FOR 

15 REPORTING IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, AND 

16 OTHER RELATED CRIME. 

17 Section 621(f)(2) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

18 (15 U.S.C. 1681s(f)(2)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

20 ‘‘MODEL FORM’’ and inserting ‘‘STANDARDIZED AF21 FIDAVIT’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘The Bureau’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘model form’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘standardized affidavit’’; 


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1 (4) by inserting after ‘‘identity theft’’ the fol2 lowing: ‘‘, fraud, or a related crime, or otherwise are 

3 harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of the con4 sumer’s financial or personally identifiable informa5 tion,’’; and 

6 (5) by striking ‘‘fraud.’’ and inserting ‘‘identity 

7 theft, fraud, or other related crime. Such standard8 ized affidavit and procedures shall not include a re9 quirement that a consumer obtain a police report.’’. 

10 SEC. 808. ESTABLISHES THE RIGHT TO FREE CREDIT MONI11 TORING AND IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION 

12 SERVICES FOR CERTAIN CONSUMERS. 

13 (a) ENFORCEMENT OF CREDIT MONITORING FOR

14 SERVICEMEMBERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (k) of section 

16 605A (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(a)) is amended by strik17 ing paragraph (4). 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection and the 

19 amendment made by this subsection shall take effect 

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) FREE CREDIT MONITORING AND IDENTITY

22 THEFT PROTECTION SERVICES FOR CERTAIN CON23 SUMERS.—Subsection (k) of section 605A (15 U.S.C. 

24 1681c–1), is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(k) CREDIT MONITORING AND IDENTITY THEFT

2 PROTECTION SERVICES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the direct request of 

4 a consumer, a consumer reporting agency described 

5 in section 603(p) that maintains a file on the con6 sumer and has received appropriate proof of the 

7 identity of the requester (as described in section 

8 1022.123 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) 

9 shall provide the consumer with credit monitoring 

10 and identity theft protection services not later than 

11 1 business day after receiving such request sent by 

12 postal mail, toll-free telephone, or secure electronic 

13 means as established by the agency. 

14 ‘‘(2) FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) CLASSES OF CONSUMERS.—The Bu16 reau may establish classes of consumers eligible 

17 to receive credit monitoring and identity theft 

18 protection services free of charge. 

19 ‘‘(B) NO FEE.—A consumer reporting 

20 agency described in section 603(p) may not 

21 charge a consumer a fee to receive credit moni22 toring and identity theft protection services if 

23 the consumer or a representative of the con24 sumer— 


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1 ‘‘(i) asserts in good faith a suspicion 

2 that the consumer has been or is about to 

3 become a victim of identity theft, fraud, or 

4 a related crime, or harmed by the unau5 thorized disclosure of the consumer’s fi6 nancial or personally identifiable informa7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(ii) is unemployed and intends to 

9 apply for employment in the 60-day period 

10 beginning on the date on which the request 

11 is made; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is a recipient of public welfare 

13 assistance; 

14 ‘‘(iv) is an active duty uniformed con15 sumer or a member of the National Guard 

16 (as defined in section 101(c) of title 10, 

17 United States Code); 

18 ‘‘(v) is 65 years of age or older; or 

19 ‘‘(vi) is a member of a class estab20 lished by the Bureau under subparagraph 

21 (A). 

22 ‘‘(3) BUREAU RULEMAKING.—The Bureau shall 

23 issue regulations— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to define the scope of credit moni2 toring and identity theft protection services re3 quired under this subsection; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to set a fair and reasonable fee that 

5 a consumer reporting agency may charge a con6 sumer (other than a consumer described under 

7 paragraph (2)(B)) for such credit monitoring 

8 and identity theft protection services. 

9 ‘‘(4) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—This sub10 section does not modify or supersede of the laws of 

11 any State relating to credit monitoring and identity 

12 theft protection services or other similar actions, ex13 cept to the extent those laws are inconsistent with 

14 any provision of this title, and then only to the ex15 tent of the inconsistency. For purposes of this sub16 section, a term or provision of a State law is not in17 consistent with the provisions of this subsection if 

18 the term or provision affords greater protection to 

19 the consumer than the protection provided under 

20 this subsection as determined by the Bureau.’’. 

21 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than the end of the 2- 

22 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

24 Protection shall issue final rules to carry out the amend25 ment made by subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 809. ENSURES REMOVAL OF INQUIRIES RESULTING 

2 FROM IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, OR OTHER 

3 RELATED CRIME FROM CONSUMER REPORTS. 

4 Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

5 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 403, is further 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(17) Information about inquiries made for a 

8 credit report based on requests that the consumer 

9 reporting agency verifies were initiated as the result 

10 of identity theft, fraud, or other related crime.’’. 

11 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

12 SEC. 901. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 302, is further 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(dd) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO DAYS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) CALENDAR DAY; DAY.—The term ‘calendar 

18 day’ or ‘day’ means a calendar day, excluding any 

19 federally recognized holiday. 

20 ‘‘(2) BUSINESS DAY.—The term ‘business day’ 

21 means a day between and including Monday to Fri22 day, and excluding any federally recognized holi23 day.’’. 


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1 SEC. 902. TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATED TO RISK2 BASED PRICING NOTICES. 

3 Section 615(h)(8) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

4 (15 U.S.C. 1681m) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘this sec6 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘this subsection’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘This sec8 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘This subsection’’. 

9 SEC. 903. FCRA FINDINGS AND PURPOSE; VOIDS CERTAIN 

10 CONTRACTS NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. 

11 (a) FCRA FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—Section 602 of 

12 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681(a)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) Many financial and non-financial decisions af18 fecting consumers’ lives depend upon fair, complete, and 

19 accurate credit reporting. Inaccurate and incomplete cred20 it reports directly impair the efficiency of the financial sys21 tem and undermine the integrity of using credit reports 

22 in other circumstances, and unfair credit reporting and 

23 credit scoring methods undermine the public confidence 

24 which is essential to the continued functioning of the fi25 nancial services system and the provision of many other 

26 consumer products and services.’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting after 

2 ‘‘agencies’’ the following: ‘‘, furnishers, and 

3 credit scoring developers’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘It is the purpose of this 

6 title to require’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘The purpose of this title is the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) To require’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(2) To prohibit any practices and procedures 

11 with respect to credit reports and credit scores that 

12 are not in the public interest.’’. 

13 (b) VOIDING OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS NOT IN THE

14 PUBLIC INTEREST.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 703, is fur16 ther amended— 

17 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec18 tion: 

19 ‘‘§ 634. Voiding of certain contracts not in the public 

20 interest 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any provision contained in a 

22 contract that requires a person to not follow a provision 

23 of this title, that is against the public interest, or that 

24 otherwise circumvents the purposes of this title shall be 

25 null and void. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub2 section (a) shall be construed as affecting other provisions 

3 of a contract that are not described under subsection 

4 (a).’’; and 

5 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by in6 serting after the item relating to section 633 the fol7 lowing new item: 

‘‘634. Voiding of certain contracts not in the public interest.’’. 

8 SEC. 904. GAO STUDY ON THE USE OF CREDIT IN HOUSING 

9 DETERMINATIONS. 

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

11 States shall carry out a study of the use of consumer re12 ports and credit scores in housing determinations to deter13 mine whether consumer reports or credit scores are being 

14 used as tools to perform the equivalent of banned red-lin15 ing. 

16 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—In carrying out the study 

17 required under subsection (a), the Comptroller General 

18 shall— 

19 (1) examine both rental applications and mort20 gage applications; and 

21 (2) include a demographic breakdown by race, 

22 gender, age, sexual orientation, city/suburban/rural, 

23 socioeconomic status, and any other demographic 

24 that the Comptroller General determines appro25 priate. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall issue a 

2 report to the Congress containing all findings and deter3 minations made in carrying out the study required under 

4 subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 905. GAO STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF CREDIT SCORES 

6 IMPACTED BY A STUDENT BORROWER’S DE7 FAULTED OR DELINQUENT PRIVATE EDU8 CATION LOAN. 

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

10 States shall carry out a study on how credit scores im11 pacted by a student borrower’s defaulted or delinquent 

12 private education loan impacts applying for future loans, 

13 including information on the treatment of different demo14 graphic populations. 

15 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall issue a 

16 report to the Congress containing all findings and deter17 minations made in carrying out the study required under 

18 subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 906. GAO STUDY ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY 

20 COMPLIANCE WITH CONSENT ORDERS. 

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

22 States shall carry out a study of the compliance by con23 sumer reporting agencies that compile and maintain files 

24 on consumers on a nationwide basis with consent orders, 

25 and the impact such compliance has on consumers. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 180-day 

2 period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Comptroller General shall issue a report to the Committee 

4 on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 

5 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

6 of the Senate containing all findings and determinations 

7 made in carrying out the study required under subsection 

8 (a). 

9 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con10 sumer’’ and ‘‘consumer reporting agency that compiles 

11 and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis’’ 

12 have the meaning given those terms, respectively, under 

13 section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

14 SEC. 907. PROTECTIONS FOR ACTIVE DUTY UNIFORMED 

15 CONSUMER. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit 

17 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (q), by amending paragraph 

19 (1) to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) ACTIVE DUTY UNIFORMED CONSUMER.— 

21 The term ‘active duty uniformed consumer’ means a 

22 consumer who is— 

23 ‘‘(A) in military service and on active serv24 ice (as defined in section 101(d) of title 10, 

25 United States Code); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a member of the uniformed services 

2 (as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United 

3 States Code) who is not a member of the armed 

4 forces and is on active service.’’; and 

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (dd) (as added 

6 by section 901) the following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) EXTENDED ACTIVE DUTY UNIFORMED CON8 SUMER.—The term ‘extended active duty uniformed con9 sumer’ means an active duty uniformed consumer that is 

10 deployed— 

11 ‘‘(1) in a combat zone (as defined under section 

12 112(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or 

13 ‘‘(2) aboard a United States vessel.’’. 

14 (b) PROHIBITION ON INCLUDING CERTAIN ADVERSE

15 INFORMATION IN CONSUMER REPORTS.—Section 605 of 

16 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by section 

19 809, by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(19) Any item of adverse information about a 

21 consumer, if the action or inaction that gave rise to 

22 the item occurred while the consumer was an ex23 tended active duty uniformed consumer.’’; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) (as added 

25 by section 705) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF STATUS AS AN EXTENDED ACTIVE

2 DUTY UNIFORMED CONSUMER.—With respect to an item 

3 of adverse information about a consumer, if the action or 

4 inaction that gave rise to the item occurred while the con5 sumer was an extended active duty uniformed consumer, 

6 the consumer may provide appropriate proof, including of7 ficial orders, to a consumer reporting agency that the con8 sumer was an extended active duty uniformed consumer 

9 at the time such action or inaction occurred. The con10 sumer reporting agency shall promptly delete that item of 

11 adverse information from the file of the consumer and no12 tify the consumer and the furnisher of the information of 

13 the deletion.’’. 

14 (c) COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE CONSUMER

15 AND CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.—Section 605A 

16 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (c), as amended by section 

19 803, by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) NEGATIVE INFORMATION ALERT.—Any 

21 time a consumer reporting agency receives an item 

22 of adverse information about a consumer, if the con23 sumer has provided appropriate proof that the con24 sumer is an extended active duty uniformed conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00210 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3621.RDS H3621

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1 sumer, the consumer reporting agency shall prompt2 ly notify the consumer— 

3 ‘‘(A) that the agency has received such 

4 item of adverse information, along with a de5 scription of the item; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the method by which the consumer 

7 can dispute the validity of the item. 

8 ‘‘(3) CONTACT INFORMATION FOR EXTENDED

9 ACTIVE DUTY UNIFORMED CONSUMERS.—With re10 spect to any consumer that has provided appropriate 

11 proof to a consumer reporting agency that the con12 sumer is an extended active duty uniformed con13 sumer, if the consumer provides the consumer re14 porting agency with separate contact information to 

15 be used when communicating with the consumer 

16 while the consumer is an extended active duty uni17 formed consumer, the consumer reporting agency 

18 shall use such contact information for all commu19 nications while the consumer is an extended active 

20 duty uniformed consumer.’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (e), by amending paragraph 

22 (3) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(3) subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

24 (c)(1), in the case of a referral under subsection 

25 (c)(1)(C).’’. 


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1 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The Fair Credit 

2 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘active duty military’’ each place such term ap4 pears and inserting ‘‘active duty uniformed’’. 

5 (e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that any person making use of a consumer report 

7 containing an item of adverse information should, if the 

8 action or inaction that gave rise to the item occurred while 

9 the consumer was an extended active duty uniformed con10 sumer, take such fact into account when evaluating the 

11 creditworthiness of the consumer. 

12 SEC. 908. POSITIVE CREDIT REPORTING PERMITTED. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit 

14 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2), as amended by sec15 tion 103, is further amended by adding at the end the 

16 following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(g) FULL-FILE CREDIT REPORTING.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require19 ments of paragraphs (2) through (5) and notwith20 standing any other provision of law, a person that 

21 has obtained the written authorization of a con22 sumer may furnish to a consumer reporting agency 

23 information relating to the performance of a con24 sumer in making payments— 


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1 ‘‘(A) under a lease agreement with respect 

2 to a dwelling; or 

3 ‘‘(B) pursuant to a contract for services 

4 provided by a utility or telecommunication firm. 

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) WITHHELD PAYMENTS DUE TO HAB7 ITABILITY OR SANITARY CONDITIONS.—No per8 son shall furnish or threaten to furnish negative 

9 information relating to the performance of a 

10 consumer in making payments under a lease 

11 agreement with respect to a dwelling if the con12 sumer has withheld payment pursuant to— 

13 ‘‘(i) any right or remedy for breach of 

14 the warranty of habitability; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) any violation of a Federal, State, 

16 or municipal law, code, or regulation re17 garding sanitary conditions. 

18 ‘‘(B) SERVICES PROVIDED BY A UTILITY

19 OR TELECOMMUNICATION FIRM.—Information 

20 about a consumer’s usage of any services pro21 vided by a utility or telecommunication firm 

22 may be furnished to a consumer reporting agen23 cy only to the extent that such information re24 lates to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) payment by the consumer for 

2 such services; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) other terms of the provision of 

4 such services to the consumer, including 

5 any deposit, discount, or conditions for 

6 interruption or termination of such serv7 ices. 

8 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT PLAN.—A utility or tele9 communication firm may not report payment infor10 mation to a consumer reporting agency with respect 

11 to an outstanding balance of a consumer as late if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the utility or telecommunication firm 

13 and the consumer have entered into a payment 

14 plan (including a deferred payment agreement, 

15 an arrearage management program, or a debt 

16 forgiveness program) with respect to such out17 standing balance; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the consumer is meeting the obliga19 tions of the payment plan, as determined by the 

20 utility or telecommunication firm. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION ON USE BY DEBT COLLEC22 TORS.—A debt collector (as defined in section 

23 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) 

24 may not use the information described in paragraph 

25 (1). 


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1 ‘‘(5) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Notwith2 standing section 625, this subsection shall not pre3 empt any law of a State with respect to furnishing 

4 to a consumer reporting agency information relating 

5 to the performance of a consumer in making pay6 ments pursuant to a lease agreement with respect to 

7 a dwelling or a contract for a utility or telecommuni8 cations service. For purposes of this paragraph, the 

9 term ‘law of a State’ shall include all laws, decisions, 

10 rules, regulations, or other State action having the 

11 effect of law, as issued by a State, any political sub12 divisions thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of 

13 either the State or a political subdivision thereof. 

14 ‘‘(6) UTILITY OR TELECOMMUNICATION FIRM

15 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘utility or 

16 telecommunication firm’— 

17 ‘‘(A) means an entity that provides utility 

18 services to the public through pipe, wire, 

19 landline, wireless, cable, or other connected fa20 cilities, or radio, electronic, or similar trans21 mission (including the extension of such facili22 ties); and 

23 ‘‘(B) includes an entity that provides nat24 ural gas or electric service to consumers.’’. 


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1 (b) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 

2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp3 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con4 gress a report on the impact on consumers of furnishing 

5 information pursuant to subsection (g) of section 623 of 

6 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2), as 

7 added by subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 909. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that efforts to enhance 

10 cybersecurity and implement routine security updates of 

11 databases maintained by the nationwide consumer report12 ing agencies that contain sensitive consumer data, includ13 ing the credit history and personal information of millions 

14 of Americans, is critical to the national interest of the 

15 United States. 

16 SEC. 910. CYBERSECURITY SUPERVISION AND EXAMINA17 TION OF LARGE CONSUMER REPORTING 

18 AGENCIES. 

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

20 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 706, is 

21 further amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 638. CYBERSECURITY SUPERVISION AND EXAMINA2 TION OF LARGE CONSUMER REPORTING 

3 AGENCIES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Consumer reporting agencies de5 scribed under section 603(p) shall be subject to 

6 cybersecurity supervision and examination by the Bureau. 

7 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—Con8 sumer reporting agencies described under section 603(p) 

9 shall meet minimum training and ongoing certification re10 quirements with respect to cybersecurity at regular inter11 vals, as established by the Director of the Bureau.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by section 

14 706, is further amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

‘‘638. Cybersecurity supervision and examination of large consumer reporting 

agencies.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives January 29, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS