I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 619
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to assure the completeness and
accuracy of consumer information maintained by credit reporting agen-
cies, to better inform consumers of their rights under the Act, and
to improve enforcement, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 26, 1993
Mr. MCCANDLESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to assure the com-
pleteness and accuracy of consumer information main-
tained by credit reporting agencies, to better inform con-
sumers of their rights under the Act, and to improve
enforcement, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO FAIR
CREDIT REPORTING ACT
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Reporting
Reform Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
(a) ADVERSE ACTION.—Section 603 of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(j) The term ‘adverse action’—
‘‘(1) has the meaning given to such term in sec-
tion 701(d)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act;
and
‘‘(2) includes—
‘‘(A) any denial of, increase in any charge
for, or reduction in the amount of, insurance
for personal, family, or household purposes
made in connection with the underwriting of in-
surance;
‘‘(B) any denial of employment or any
other decision for employment purposes which
adversely affects any current or prospective em-
ployee; and
‘‘(C) any action taken, or determination
made—
‘‘(i) with respect to a consumer for—
‘‘(I) an application for an exten-
sion of credit;
‘‘(II) a report for the cashing of
a check drawn by the consumer;
‘‘(III) an application for a trans-
action account (as that term is de-
fined in section 19(b)(1) of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act) at a depository in-
stitution (as that term is defined in
section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act);
‘‘(IV) an application for the leas-
ing of real estate; and
‘‘(ii) which is adverse to the interest
of the consumer.’’.
(b) EXCLUSIONS FROM DEFINITION OF CONSUMER
REPORT.—Section 603(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is amended in the second sen-
tence—
(1) by inserting before the semicolon at the end
of clause (A) the following: ‘‘, or (i) any communica-
tion of that information among persons related by
common ownership or affiliated by corporate control;
or (ii) any communication of information from a
credit application by a consumer among persons re-
lated by common ownership or affiliated by cor-
porate control, provided that it is clearly and con-
spicuously disclosed with the application that the in-
formation may be communicated among such per-
sons and the consumer consents’’;
(2) in clause (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the
semicolon at the end;
(3) in clause (C) by striking the period and in-
serting a semicolon; and
(4) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(D)
any communication of information about a consumer
between persons who are affiliated by common own-
ership or common corporate control and in connec-
tion with a credit transaction which is not initiated
by the consumer, if either of those persons has com-
plied with section 615(d)(2)(B) with respect to a
consumer report from which the information is
taken and the consumer has consented to use of the
report for the transaction in accordance with section
615(d)(2)(C); (E) any report furnished for use in
connection with a transaction which consists of an
extension of credit to be used for a commercial pur-
pose, or (F) any report or information furnished to
a government agency pursuant to section 608 for
law enforcement purposes.’’.
(c) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.—Section 603(f)
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) is
amended by striking ‘‘practice’’ and inserting ‘‘business’’.
(d) FIRM OFFER OF CREDIT.—Section 603 of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further
amended by adding after subsection (j) (as added by sub-
section (a) of this section) the following:
‘‘(k) The term ‘firm offer of credit’ means any offer
of credit to a consumer that will be honored if, based on
information in a consumer report on the consumer and
other information bearing on the creditworthiness of the
consumer, the consumer is determined to meet the criteria
used to select the consumer for the offer.’’.
(e) CREDIT TRANSACTION WHICH IS NOT INITIATED
BY THE CONSUMER.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by add-
ing after subsection (k) (as added by subsection (d) of this
section) the following:
‘‘(l) The term ‘credit transaction which is not initi-
ated by the consumer’ does not include the use of a
consumer report by a person with which the consumer has
an account, for purposes of—
‘‘(1) reviewing the account; or
‘‘(2) collecting the account.’’.
(f) STATE OR LOCAL CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE-
MENT AGENCY DEFINED.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by
adding after subsection (l) (as added by subsection (e) of
this section) the following:
‘‘(m) The term ‘State or local child support enforce-
ment agency’ means a State or local agency which admin-
isters a State or local program for establishing and enforc-
ing child support obligations.’’.
(g) STATE.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Report-
ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by adding
after subsection (m) (as added by subsection (f) of this
section) the following:
‘‘(n) The term ‘State’ means any State, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and any
territory or possession of the United States.’’.
(h) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 603(d) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is
amended in the first sentence—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘in whole or in part
for’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘credit or insur-
ance’’.
SEC. 103. FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS; USE FOR EM-
PLOYMENT PURPOSES.
(a) FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS FOR BUSI-
NESS TRANSACTIONS.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before
‘‘A consumer reporting agency’’;
(2) in subsection (a) (as designated by para-
graph (1)) by moving the left hand margins of para-
graphs (1) through (3) (including such margins of
subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (3)) 2
ems to the right; and
(3) in subsection (a)(3) (as designated by para-
graph (1) of this subsection) by amending subpara-
graph (E) to read as follows:
‘‘(E) otherwise has a legitimate business
need for the information in connection with—
‘‘(i) a review of an existing account of
the consumer; or
‘‘(ii) a business transaction that—
‘‘(I) is initiated by the consumer;
or
‘‘(II) is a direct marketing trans-
action for which the furnishing of a
consumer report by the agency is not
prohibited under subsection (e).’’.
(b) FURNISHING AND USING CONSUMER REPORTS
FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES.—Section 604 of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is further amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(b) CONDITIONS
FOR FURNISHING
AND USING
CONSUMER REPORTS FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES.—
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION FROM USER.—A consumer
reporting agency may furnish a consumer report for
employment purposes only if—
‘‘(A) the person who obtains such report
from the agency certifies to the agency that—
‘‘(i) the disclosure required under
paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be,
with respect to such consumer report has
been made; and
‘‘(ii) information from the consumer
report will not be used in violation of any
applicable Federal or State equal employ-
ment opportunity law or regulation; and
‘‘(B) the consumer reporting agency pro-
vides with the report a summary of the consum-
er’s rights under this title, as prescribed by the
Federal 
Trade 
Commission 
under 
section
609(c)(3).
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE
TO
PROSPECTIVE
EMPLOY-
EES.—A person may not procure a consumer report,
or cause a consumer report to be procured, for em-
ployment purposes with respect to any consumer