I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3850 
To provide for additional protections and disclosures to consumers when 
financial products or services are related to the consumers’ military 
or Federal pensions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 28, 2015 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 
BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DELANEY, 
Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LAN-
GEVIN, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. 
TSONGAS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. JONES) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, 
Armed Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for additional protections and disclosures to con-
sumers when financial products or services are related 
to the consumers’ military or Federal pensions, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Annuity Safety and 
Security Under Reasonable Enforcement Act of 2015’’ or 
the ‘‘ASSURE Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL AND MILITARY PEN-
SIONS IN EXTENSIONS OF CREDIT. 
The Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) in section 104(3), by inserting after ‘‘other 
than’’ the following: ‘‘payments described under sec-
tion 126(a) and’’; 
(2) by inserting after section 125 the following: 
‘‘§ 126. Payments in consideration of Federal and 
military pensions 
‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE.—The Bureau shall issue regula-
tions requiring any payment to a benefit recipient, wheth-
er or not such payment is an extension of credit, that di-
minishes the benefit recipient’s ability to control the pay-
ments from their Federal or military pension in any way, 
to be treated as an extension of credit for purposes of the 
disclosures required under this title. 
‘‘(b) INTEREST RATE CAP.—With respect to a pay-
ment to a benefit recipient described under subsection 
(a)— 
‘‘(1) if such payment is an extension of con-
sumer credit, a creditor may not impose an annual 
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percentage rate of interest greater than the Federal 
funds rate plus 6 percent; and 
‘‘(2) if such payment is not an extension of con-
sumer credit, the Bureau shall issue regulations re-
quiring that the aggregate amount of cash and prop-
erty paid in exchange for such payment may not ex-
ceed an amount that is equivalent to the interest 
rate described under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) BENEFIT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘benefit 
recipient’ means a person who is entitled to pay-
ments under a Federal or military pension. 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
OR
MILITARY
PENSION.—The 
term ‘Federal or military pension’ means— 
‘‘(A) a benefit described under section 
5301(a) of title 38, United States Code; 
‘‘(B) retired pay to an enlisted member of 
the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or 
Coast Guard; and 
‘‘(C) an annuity described under section 
8345 or 8465 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDS RATE.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘Federal funds rate’ means the 
Federal funds rate published in the Federal Reserve 
Statistical Release on selected interest rates (daily or 
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weekly), and commonly referred to as the H.15 re-
lease (or any successor publication).’’; and 
(3) in the table of contents for chapter 2 of 
such Act, by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 125 the following: 
‘‘126. Payments in consideration of Federal and military pensions.’’. 
SEC. 
3. 
CLARIFICATION 
OF 
ASSIGNMENTS; 
PRIVATE 
RIGHTS OF ACTIONS. 
(a) VETERANS BENEFITS.—Section 5301 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(f) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A benefit recipient may 
bring an action against a pension assignee in the ap-
propriate Federal or State court and recover— 
‘‘(A) three times the damages suffered due 
to the assignment made in violation of this sec-
tion; 
‘‘(B) court costs; and 
‘‘(C) reasonable attorneys’ fees and ex-
penses. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section: 
‘‘(A) BENEFIT
RECIPIENT.—The term 
‘benefit recipient’ means a person with respect 
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to which payments of benefits described under 
this section are due or are to become due. 
‘‘(B) PENSION ASSIGNEE.—With respect to 
a benefit recipient, the term ‘pension assignee’ 
means a person who has been assigned the ben-
efits of the benefit recipient in violation of this 
section.’’. 
(b) MILITARY RETIRED PAY.—Section 701 of title 
37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(f) CLARIFICATION ON NON-ASSIGNMENT OF RE-
TIRED PAY FOR ENLISTED MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sub-
section (c), in any case where an enlisted member is 
entitled to retired pay and enters into an agreement 
with another person under which agreement such 
other person acquires for consideration the right to 
receive payment of such retired pay, whether by pay-
ment from the member to such other person, deposit 
into an account from which such other person may 
make withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement 
shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib-
ited. Any agreement or arrangement for collateral 
for security for an agreement that is prohibited 
under the previous sentence is also prohibited. 
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‘‘(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A retired pay recipi-
ent may bring an action against a retired pay 
assignee in the appropriate Federal or State 
court and recover— 
‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 
due to the assignment of retired pay made 
in violation of this section; 
‘‘(ii) court costs; and 
‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 
expenses. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
subsection: 
‘‘(i) RETIRED PAY RECIPIENT.—The 
term ‘retired pay recipient’ means a person 
with respect to which retired pay described 
under this section is due or is to become 
due. 
‘‘(ii) RETIRED PAY ASSIGNEE.—With 
respect to a retired pay recipient, the term 
‘retired pay assignee’ means a person who 
has been assigned or allotted the retired 
pay of the retired pay recipient in violation 
of this section.’’. 
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(c) CSRS ANNUITIES.—Section 8345(h) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(h) NON-ASSIGNMENT OF ANNUITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to an 
annuity from the Fund may not make allotments or 
assignments of amounts from such annuity. 
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this 
subsection— 
‘‘(A) in any case where an individual enti-
tled to an annuity from the Fund enters into an 
agreement with another person under which 
agreement such other person acquires for con-
sideration the right to receive payment of such 
annuity, whether by payment from the indi-
vidual to such other person, deposit into an ac-
count from which such other person may make 
withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall 
be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib-
ited; and 
‘‘(B) any agreement or arrangement for 
collateral for security for an agreement that is 
prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also pro-
hibited. 
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‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 
shall not apply to amounts used to pay dues to 
unions or other employee organizations. 
‘‘(4) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An annuity recipient 
may bring an action against an annuity as-
signee in the appropriate Federal or State court 
and recover— 
‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 
due to the assignment made in violation of 
this subsection or the regulations issued 
pursuant to this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) court costs; and 
‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 
expenses. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
paragraph: 
‘‘(i) ANNUITY
ASSIGNEE.—With re-
spect to an annuity recipient, the term ‘an-
nuity assignee’ means a person who has 
been assigned or allotted all or part of an 
annuity from the Fund in violation of this 
subsection or the regulations issued pursu-
ant to this subsection. 
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‘‘(ii) ANNUITY RECIPIENT.—The term 
‘annuity recipient’ means an individual en-
titled to an annuity from the Fund.’’. 
(d) FERS ANNUITIES.—Section 8465(b) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) NON-ASSIGNMENT OF ANNUITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual entitled to an 
annuity from the Fund may not make allotments or 
assignments of amounts from such annuity. 
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this 
subsection— 
‘‘(A) in any case where an individual enti-
tled to an annuity from the Fund enters into an 
agreement with another person under which 
agreement such other person acquires for con-
sideration the right to receive payment of such 
annuity, whether by payment from the indi-
vidual to such other person, deposit into an ac-
count from which such other person may make 
withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall 
be deemed to be an assignment and is prohib-
ited; and 
‘‘(B) any agreement or arrangement for 
collateral for security for an agreement that is 
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prohibited under subparagraph (A) is also pro-
hibited. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 
shall not apply to amounts used to pay dues to 
unions or other employee organizations. 
‘‘(4) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An annuity recipient 
may bring an action against an annuity as-
signee in the appropriate Federal or State court 
and recover— 
‘‘(i) three times the damages suffered 
due to the assignment made in violation of 
this subsection or the regulations issued 
pursuant to this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) court costs; and 
‘‘(iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 
expenses. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
paragraph: 
‘‘(i) ANNUITY
ASSIGNEE.—With re-
spect to an annuity recipient, the term ‘an-
nuity assignee’ means a person who has 
been assigned or allotted all or part of an 
annuity from the Fund in violation of this 
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subsection or the regulations issued pursu-
ant to this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) ANNUITY RECIPIENT.—The term 
‘annuity recipient’ means an individual en-
titled to an annuity from the Fund.’’. 
SEC. 4. BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 
PROVISIONS. 
(a) REGULATION OF FEDERAL OR MILITARY PEN-
SION-RELATED PRODUCTS.—Section 1032(f) of the Con-
sumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 
5532(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) REGULATION OF FEDERAL OR MILITARY PEN-
SION-RELATED PRODUCTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Bureau shall issue 
regulations to require a person offering a Federal or 
military pension-related product to provide addi-
tional disclosures when advertising or selling such 
product, sufficient to allow consumers to understand 
how their pension relates to the product. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS DEFINED.—For purposes of 
this subsection: 
‘‘(A) FEDERAL OR MILITARY PENSION.— 
The term ‘Federal or military pension’ means— 
‘‘(i) a benefit described under section 
5301(a) of title 38, United States Code; 
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‘‘(ii) retired pay to an enlisted mem-
ber of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 
Corps, or Coast Guard; and 
‘‘(iii) an annuity described under sec-
tion 8345 or 8465 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL OR MILITARY PENSION-RE-
LATED PRODUCT.—The term ‘Federal or mili-
tary pension-related product’ means a financial 
product or service related to a Federal or mili-
tary pension, including any extension of credit 
if the creditor, when determining a consumer’s 
ability to repay the extension of credit, takes 
the pension into consideration.’’. 
(b) STUDY BY THE BUREAU.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Consumer 
Financial Protection shall carry out a study of fi-
nancial products and services that target military re-
tirees and Federal employee retirees. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 3- 
month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Bureau shall issue a report to 
the Congress containing all findings and determina-
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tions made in carrying out the study required under 
this subsection. 
Æ 
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