I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2309 
To provide authority to the Federal Trade Commission to expedite 
rulemakings concerning consumer credit or debt and to direct the Com-
mission to examine and promulgate rules with regard to debt settlement 
and automobile sales, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2009 
Mr. RUSH (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide authority to the Federal Trade Commission to 
expedite rulemakings concerning consumer credit or debt 
and to direct the Commission to examine and promulgate 
rules with regard to debt settlement and automobile 
sales, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Credit and 
Debt Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO CREDIT OR DEBT. 
(a) EXPEDITED RULEMAKING.—Section 18 of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(k) Notwithstanding any other procedures set forth 
in this section or section 22, for any rulemaking relating 
to consumer credit or debt, the Commission shall conduct 
such rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title 
5, United States Code, and the provisions for judicial re-
view of rules promulgated in accordance such section shall 
apply to any rule promulgated in such a rulemaking.’’. 
(b) SPECIFIC RULEMAKINGS.— 
(1) DEBT SETTLEMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Federal Trade 
Commission shall examine the practices of pro-
viders of debt settlement services and prescribe 
such rules as the Commission determines nec-
essary (in accordance with section 553 of title 
5, United States Code) in order to prevent un-
fair and deceptive acts or practices of providers 
of such services. The Commission shall consider 
adopting rules that— 
(i) prohibit the charging of fees to 
consumers prior to any debt settlement 
service being fully rendered and limiting 
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fees that may be charged after a settle-
ment with a creditor is reached; and 
(ii) require disclosures before a con-
tract is signed regarding the fee structure, 
expected time frames for a successful set-
tlement, success rate of debtors in settling 
their debts, information about creditor par-
ticipation in settlement plans, and the po-
tential impact on a consumer’s credit 
score. 
(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A), the term ‘‘debt settlement serv-
ice’’ means a commercial service provided to as-
sist consumers in managing and repaying con-
sumer debt, including the offering of advice or 
acting as an intermediary between a debtor and 
one or more of the debtor’s creditors, where the 
primary purpose of the advice or action is to 
obtain a settlement for less than the full 
amount of debt owed. 
(2) AUTOMOBILE SALES.—The Federal Trade 
Commission shall examine the practices of auto-
mobile dealers with respect to credit and lending and 
shall prescribe such rules as the Commission deter-
mines necessary (in accordance with section 553 of 
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title 5, United States Code) in order to prevent un-
fair and deceptive acts or practices of such dealers. 
The Commission shall consider adopting rules 
that— 
(A) restrict post-sale changes in financing 
terms; 
(B) require that automobile purchase 
agreements or sales contracts entered into be-
tween a consumer and an automobile dealer in-
clude a provision which permits the consumer 
to cancel the transaction within a specified pe-
riod following the sale or receipt of final infor-
mation concerning the terms of the sale or fi-
nancing; and 
(C) limit the ability of automobile dealers 
to accept or solicit compensation that is based 
on the interest rate, annual percentage rate, or 
the amount financed with respect to the sale of 
an automobile and that is either— 
(i) for the provision, procurement, or 
arrangement of financing; or 
(ii) for the sale, assignment, or trans-
fer of the installment sale contract. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR RULEMAKINGS.—The Commis-
sion shall commence the rulemakings required under sub-
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section (b) within 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN CIVIL PENALTIES IN CON-
NECTION 
WITH 
UNFAIR 
AND 
DECEPTIVE 
ACTS OR PRACTICES RELATING TO CON-
SUMER CREDIT OR DEBT. 
Section 5(m)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission 
Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (D), and in such subparagraph (as so re-
designated), by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and 
(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
(C)’’; and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) The Commission may commence a 
civil action to recover a civil penalty in a dis-
trict court of the United States against any 
person, partnership, or corporation which en-
gages in any unfair or deceptive acts or prac-
tices in connection with consumer credit or debt 
with actual knowledge or knowledge fairly im-
plied on the basis of objective circumstances 
that such an act is unfair or deceptive. In such 
action, such person, partnership, or corporation 
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shall be liable for a civil penalty as provided in 
subparagraph (A).’’. 
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(f), a State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action 
on behalf of its residents in an appropriate State or dis-
trict court of the United States to enforce the provisions 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act or any other Act 
enforced by the Federal Trade Commission to obtain pen-
alties and relief provided under such Acts whenever the 
attorney general of the State has reason to believe that 
the interests of the residents of the State have been or 
are being threatened or adversely affected by a violation 
of a rule prescribed under section 2(b) or any other rule 
relating to consumer credit or debt promulgated by the 
Federal Trade Commission. 
(b) NOTICE.—The State shall serve written notice to 
the Commission of any civil action under subsection (a) 
at least 60 days prior to initiating such civil action. The 
notice shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed 
to initiate such civil action, except that if it is not feasible 
for the State to provide such prior notice, the State shall 
provide notice immediately upon instituting such civil ac-
tion. 
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(c) INTERVENTION BY FTC.—Upon receiving the no-
tice required by subsection (b), the Commission may inter-
vene in such civil action and upon intervening— 
(1) be heard on all matters arising in such civil 
action; 
(2) remove the action to the appropriate United 
States district court; and 
(3) file petitions for appeal of a decision in such 
civil action. 
(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 
prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising 
the powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws 
of such State to conduct investigations or to administer 
oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of wit-
nesses or the production of documentary and other evi-
dence. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the attorney 
general of a State, or other authorized State officer, from 
proceeding in State or Federal court on the basis of an 
alleged violation of any civil or criminal statute of that 
State. 
(e) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS; JOINDER.—In a 
civil action brought under subsection (a)— 
(1) the venue shall be a judicial district in 
which the lender or a related party operates or is au-
thorized to do business; 
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(2) process may be served without regard to the 
territorial limits of the district or of the State in 
which the civil action is instituted; and 
(3) a person who participated with a lender or 
related party to an alleged violation that is being 
litigated in the civil action may be joined in the civil 
action without regard to the residence of the person. 
(f) PREEMPTIVE ACTION BY FTC.—Whenever a civil 
action or an administrative action has been instituted by 
or on behalf of the Commission for violation of any rule 
described under subsection (a), no State may, during the 
pendency of such action instituted by or on behalf of the 
Commission, institute a civil action under subsection (a) 
against any defendant named in the complaint in such ac-
tion for violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint. 
(g) AWARD OF COSTS AND FEES.—If the attorney 
general of a State prevails in any civil action under sub-
section (a), the State can recover reasonable costs and at-
torney fees from the lender or related party. 
Æ 
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