I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4220
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect the credit records of 
consumers who are affected by federally declared disasters, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2004
Ms. BORDALLO
(for herself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 
FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. OWENS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect the 
credit records of consumers who are affected by federally 
declared disasters, 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 ‘‘Federal Disaster Con-
sumer Protection Act’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON INCLUDING LATE PAYMENTS IN 
CREDIT REPORTS THAT WERE LATE DUE 
SOLELY TO DECLARED DISASTERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) Any reference to a late payment that was 
due solely to a disruption caused by a declared dis-
aster for which the agency receives notice under sub-
section (i).’’. 
(b) PROCEDURE FOR STRIKING ADVERSE INFORMA-
TION DUE TO DECLARED DISASTER.—Section 605 of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) PROCEDURE FOR STRIKING ADVERSE INFORMA-
TION DUE TO DECLARED DISASTER.—
‘‘(1) NOTICE FROM CONSUMER.—Any consumer 
who—
‘‘(A) resides in an area which has been de-
clared a disaster area by the President under 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act; 
‘‘(B) fails to make a payment on an obliga-
tion by the due date (of the payment) that falls 
within the grace period described in paragraph 
(4); and
‘‘(C) pays the obligation within 30 days of 
the due date referred to in subparagraph (B), 
may notify the creditor at any time during the 2-year pe-
riod following the end of the grace period, with respect 
to such obligation, that the late payment was due to the 
occurrence of the declared disaster. 
‘‘(2) NOTICE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN-
CY.—Any creditor which receives a notice from a 
consumer under paragraph (1) shall notify any con-
sumer reporting agency to which the creditor fur-
nished information on the late payment described in 
such paragraph that the late payment was due to a 
disruption caused by a declared disaster. 
‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF 
THE
TREASURY.—The Secretary of the Treasury 
may designate a grace period for purposes of para-
graph (1) if, after consultation with the Under Sec-
retary for Emergency Preparedness and Response of 
the Department of Homeland Security, the Sec-
retary determines that—
‘‘(A) a disaster, as declared by the Presi-
dent under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act has caused 
damage to the infrastructure affecting banking,
credit, and other financial services and trans-
actions in a specified geographic region; and 
‘‘(B) the damage sustained could disrupt 
the provision of financial services and the effi-
cient execution of financial transactions for a 
period longer than the period described in para-
graph (4)(A). 
‘‘(4) GRACE
PERIOD
DESCRIBED.—For pur-
poses of paragraph (1), the grace period, with re-
spect to any consumer, means the longer of—
‘‘(A) the 7-day period that begins on the 
effective date of the declaration, by the Presi-
dent, of the disaster area in which the con-
sumer resides; and 
‘‘(B) the period, if any, prescribed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(5) DUE DATE.—The term ‘due date’ means 
the first date upon which a late fee or other penalty 
may be imposed on a consumer for a failure of the 
consumer to make a periodic payment that is due on 
a debt.’’. 
(c) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Before the end of 
the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 
a report to the Congress containing—