SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Uniform Treatment 
of NRSROs Act’’. 
SEC. 2. UNIFORM TREATMENT OF NRSROS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4003 of the CARES Act 
(15 U.S.C. 9042), as amended by section 902, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) UNIFORM TREATMENT OF NRSROS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, in carrying out this sec-
tion or any other program making use of a facility 
established under section 13(3) of the Federal Re-
serve Act in response to the COVID–19 emergency, 
the Secretary of the Treasury or the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System establishes a 
requirement for an entity, security, or other instru-
ment to carry a minimum credit rating, the Sec-
retary or the Board of Governors shall accept credit 
ratings provided by any nationally recognized statis-
tical rating organization with respect to such entity, 
security, or other instrument, if the nationally recog-
nized statistical rating organization is registered 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission to 
issue credit ratings with respect to the applicable 
asset class of the entity, security, or other instru-
ment. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the 
Board of Governors may exclude a nationally 
recognized statistical rating organization from 
the application of paragraph (1) if, in consulta-
tion with the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion, the Secretary or Board of Governors, as 
applicable, determines that the nationally recog-
nized statistical rating organization is unable to 
provide reliable and accurate ratings for a par-
ticular asset class and that such exclusion is in 
the public interest. 
‘‘(B) REPORT.—If the Secretary or the 
Board of Governors excludes a nationally recog-
nized statistical rating organization from the 
application of paragraph (1) pursuant to sub-
paragraph (A), the Secretary or Board of Gov-
ernors, as applicable, shall, as soon as prac-
ticable after such exclusion, disclose to the pub-
lic the reasoning for such exclusion. 
‘‘(3) NATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED
STATISTICAL 
RATING
ORGANIZATION.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘nationally recognized statistical rating organi-
zation’ has the meaning given that term under sec-
tion 3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
U.S.C. 78c).’’.
(b) GAO STUDY.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall carry out a study on— 
(A) the quality of credit ratings across na-
tionally recognized statistical ratings organiza-
tions (as defined under section 3 of the Securi-
ties Exchange Act of 1934), including during 
the 2008 economic crisis; 
(B) the effect of competition on the quality 
of credit ratings and on the ability of small- 
and mid-size companies and financial institu-
tions to access the capital markets; and 
(C) the implementation of the amendment 
made by subsection (a). 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen-
eral shall issue a report to the Congress containing 
all finding and determinations made in carrying out 
the study required under paragraph (1). 
Passed the House of Representatives September 21, 
2020. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6934 
AN ACT 
To amend the CARES Act to require the uniform 
treatment of nationally recognized statistical rat-
ing organizations under certain programs carried 
out in response to the COVID–19 emergency, 
and for other purposes.