I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 837
To improve the administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 26, 1997
Mr. BACHUS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To improve the administration of the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act.
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 ‘‘Fair Debt Collection
Practices Amendments of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRAC-
TICES ACT.
(a) NOTICE
OF
ASSUMPTION
OF
VALIDITY
OF
DEBT.—Section 809(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)(3)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘appearing in type at least as
large as 8-point type’’ after ‘‘statement’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘disputes’’ and inserting ‘‘noti-
fies the debt collector in writing that’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘is disputed,’’ after ‘‘any por-
tion thereof,’’.
(b) COLLECTION DURING 30-DAY PERIOD.—Section
809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692g) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(d) COLLECTION ATTEMPTS DURING 30-DAY PE-
RIOD.—Except as provided in subsection (b), a debt collec-
tor may attempt to collect a debt during the 30-day period
described in subsection (a) and may demand that payment
be made during such period.’’.
(c) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Section 816 of the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692n) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘This title’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)
IN GENERAL.—This title’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(b) NO REMEDY UNDER THIS TITLE FOR STATE
LAW VIOLATIONS.—This title shall not be construed as
providing a remedy for any violation of the law of any
State with respect to debt collection practices.
‘‘(c) NO LIABILITY UNDER THIS TITLE FOR STATE
LAW VIOLATIONS.—This title shall not be construed as
establishing any liability or penalty for a violation of the
law of any State unless the conduct which constitutes a
violation of the law of such State also constitutes a viola-
tion of any requirement of this title or regulations pre-
scribed pursuant to this title.’’.
(d) ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION.—Section 804 of
the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692b)
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Any debt collector’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any debt collector’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) COMMUNICATION WITH PERSONS OTHER THAN
ATTORNEYS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Notwithstanding
subsection (a)(6), a debt collector who knows the
consumer is represented by an attorney may communicate
with any person other than such attorney for purposes of
obtaining location, income, asset, or credit information
about the consumer if the attorney refuses to provide such
information to the debt collector and the debt collector has
otherwise complied with subsection (a)(6).’’.
(e) SAFE HARBOR FOR UNINTENTIONAL VIOLATIONS
RESULTING FROM USE OF APPROVED FORMS.—Section
813(c) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15
U.S.C. 1692k(c)) is amended by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end ‘‘or resulted from the use of a form of
written communication which was approved by any State
or Federal agency which regulates debt collectors’’.
(f) EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL OR STATE EMPLOYEES
LIMITED TO COLLECTION IN THE COURSE OF EMPLOY-
MENT.—Section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac-
tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is amended by inserting
‘‘while acting as a debt collector for debt owed to the
United States or such State,’’ after ‘‘officer or employee
of the United States or any State.’’.
(g) ‘‘REASONABLE PERSON’’ STANDARD.—Section
813 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692k) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(f) ‘REASONABLE PERSON’ STANDARD.—In making
a determination as to whether or not a debt collector has
failed to comply with any provision of this title with re-
spect to any person, the court shall consider the effect of
any act or omission of the debt collector upon a reasonable
person.’’.
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