I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4328 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect certain consumers affected 

by a shutdown, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. WEXTON, and Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect certain 

consumers affected by a shutdown, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Innocent 

5 Consumers Affected by a Shutdown Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A SHUT7 DOWN. 

8 Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 302(b)(1) of the 

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1 tection Act (Public Law 115–174), is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(bb) EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.— 

4 With respect to a shutdown, the term ‘employee affected 

5 by a shutdown’ means a consumer who— 

6 ‘‘(1) is an employee of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Federal Government, and who is 

8 furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 

9 the shutdown; 

10 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia, and who is 

11 not receiving pay because of the shutdown; or 

12 ‘‘(C) a Federal contractor (as defined 

13 under section 7101 of title 41, United States 

14 Code) or other business, and who has experi15 enced a substantial reduction in pay (directly or 

16 indirectly) due to the shutdown; and 

17 ‘‘(2) who— 

18 ‘‘(A) is listed in the database established 

19 under section 630; or 

20 ‘‘(B) has self-certified pursuant to such 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(cc) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘shutdown’ means any 

23 period in which there is more than a 24-hour lapse in ap24 propriations as a result of a failure to enact a regular ap25 propriations bill or continuing resolution. 


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1 ‘‘(dd) COVERED SHUTDOWN PERIOD.—The term 

2 ‘covered shutdown period’ means, with respect to a shut3 down, the period beginning on the first day of the shut4 down and ending on the date that is 90 days after the 

5 last day of the shutdown.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A 

7 SHUTDOWN. 

8 Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 302(b)(2) of the 

10 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Pro11 tection Act (Public Law 115–174), is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) Any adverse item of information with re14 spect to an action or inaction taken during a covered 

15 shutdown period by an employee affected by a shut16 down.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO SUMMARY OF RIGHTS FOR EM18 PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 

19 Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(7) Information on the rights of an employee 

23 affected by a shutdown, including which consumers 

24 may be an employee affected by a shutdown and the 


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1 process for a consumer to self-certify as an employee 

2 affected by a shutdown under section 630.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. DATABASE AND SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR EMPLOY4 EES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 

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

6 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 630. Database and self-certification for employees 

9 affected by a shutdown 

10 ‘‘(a) DATABASE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each shut12 down, the consumer reporting agencies described in 

13 section 603(p) shall jointly establish a database that 

14 includes employees affected by the shutdown as re15 ported pursuant to paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF DATABASE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES AND CON18 TRACTORS.—Each authority of the executive, 

19 legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal 

20 Government or District of Columbia shall pro21 vide to the consumer reporting agencies de22 scribed in section 603(p) a list identifying— 

23 ‘‘(i) employees of such authority that 

24 are furloughed, excepted from furlough, or 


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1 not receiving pay because of a shutdown; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, employ4 ees of contractors of such authority. 

5 ‘‘(B) SELF-CERTIFIED CONSUMERS.—A 

6 consumer that self-certifies as an employee af7 fected by a shutdown pursuant to subsection 

8 (b) shall be included in the database, unless the 

9 Bureau determines such consumer is not an 

10 employee affected by a shutdown. 

11 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO DATABASE.—The consumer re12 porting agencies described in section 603(p) shall 

13 make the database established under this subsection 

14 available to the Bureau, other consumer reporting 

15 agencies, furnishers of information to consumer re16 porting agencies, and users of consumer reports. A 

17 consumer reporting agency described in section 

18 603(x) shall periodically access the database to con19 firm the accuracy of information such an agency has 

20 that identifies a consumer as an employee affected 

21 by a shutdown. 

22 ‘‘(b) SELF-CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—A consumer 

23 shall be deemed to be an employee affected by a shutdown 

24 if such consumer self-certifies through— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the website established under subsection 

2 (c); or 

3 ‘‘(2) a toll-free telephone number established by 

4 a consumer reporting agency. 

5 ‘‘(c) WEBSITE.—The consumer reporting agencies 

6 described in section 603(p) shall jointly establish a website 

7 for a consumer to self-certify as an employee affected by 

8 a shutdown. Such website may not include any advertise9 ment or other solicitation.’’. 

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

11 of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘630. Database and self-certification for employees affected by a shutdown.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST EM14 PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 

15 Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

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

18 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST

19 EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—If a user of 

20 a consumer report knows that a consumer is an employee 

21 affected by a shutdown, such user may not take an adverse 

22 action based on— 

23 ‘‘(1) any adverse item of information contained 

24 in such report with respect to an action or inaction 


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1 taken during a covered shutdown period by the em2 ployee; or 

3 ‘‘(2) information on the consumer included in 

4 the database established under section 630.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. BUREAU REGULATIONS OR GUIDANCE. 

6 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Pro8 tection shall issue rules or guidance, as appropriate, to 

9 carry out the requirements of this Act. 

Æ 


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