I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2498 
To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on 
account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2017 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, 
Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 
TSONGAS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PETERS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK 
MALONEY of New York, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. 
DAVIS of California, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 
SHERMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CA´RDENAS, 
Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TED LIEU 
of California, Ms. LEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. HIMES, Ms. 
ADAMS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. CROWLEY, Mrs. 
LOWEY, Mr. CARSON
of Indiana, Mr. JOHNSON
of Georgia, Mr. 
QUIGLEY, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. MENG, Ms. 
BROWNLEY of California, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CRIST, and Mr. COFF-
MAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit 
discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender 
identity when extending credit. 
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 ‘‘Freedom from Dis-
crimination in Credit Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION ON AC-
COUNT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GEN-
DER IDENTITY. 
Subsection (a)(1) of section 701 of the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 702 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 
U.S.C. 1691a) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(f) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-re-
lated identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gen-
der-related characteristics of an individual, with or with-
out regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. 
‘‘(g) The term ‘person’ means a natural person, a 
corporation, government or governmental subdivision or 
agency, trust, estate, partnership, cooperative, or associa-
tion. 
‘‘(h) The terms ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘national ori-
gin’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, ‘marital 
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status’, or ‘age’, used with respect to an individual, in-
cludes— 
‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, national origin, 
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta-
tus, or age, respectively, of another person with 
whom the individual is associated or has been associ-
ated; and 
‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 
concerning the race, color, religion, national origin, 
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta-
tus, or age, respectively, of the individual. 
‘‘(i) The term ‘sex’ includes— 
‘‘(1) a sex stereotype; 
‘‘(2) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 
condition; and 
‘‘(3) sexual orientation or gender identity. 
‘‘(j) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex-
uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 
‘‘(k) Any reference to any requirement imposed under 
this title or any provision of this title shall be deemed to 
include a reference to the regulations of the Bureau under 
this title or the provision of this title in question.’’. 
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SEC. 4. RELATION TO STATE LAWS. 
Section 705(a) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1691d(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, sexual 
orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 
Æ 
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