IB 
Union Calendar No. 287 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3622 
[Report No. 116–362] 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore the impaired credit 
of victims of predatory activities and unfair consumer reporting practices, 
to expand access to tools to protect vulnerable consumers from identity 
theft, fraud, or a related crime, and protect victims from further harm, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 5, 2019 
Ms. TLAIB introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
DECEMBER 23, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 5, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore the im-
paired credit of victims of predatory activities and unfair 
consumer reporting practices, to expand access to tools 
to protect vulnerable consumers from identity theft, 
fraud, or a related crime, and protect victims from fur-
ther harm, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re-
storing Unfairly Impaired Credit and Protecting Con-
sumers Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Effective date. 
Sec. 4. General Bureau rulemaking. 
TITLE I—RESTORING THE IMPAIRED CREDIT OF VICTIMS OF 
PREDATORY ACTIVITIES AND UNFAIR CONSUMER REPORTING 
PRACTICES 
Sec. 101. Shortens the time period that most adverse credit information stays on 
consumer reports. 
Sec. 102. Mandates the expedited removal of fully paid or settled debt from con-
sumer reports. 
Sec. 103. Imposes restrictions on the appearance of medical collections on con-
sumer reports and requires the expedited removal of fully paid 
or settled medical collections from consumer reports. 
Sec. 104. Provides credit restoration for victims of predatory mortgage lending 
and servicing. 
Sec. 105. Provides credit relief for private education loans borrowers who were de-
frauded or mislead by proprietary education institution or ca-
reer education programs. 
Sec. 106. Establishes right for victims of financial abuse to have adverse informa-
tion associated with an abuser’s fraudulent activity removed 
from their consumer reports. 
Sec. 107. Prohibits treatment of credit restoration or rehabilitation as adverse in-
formation. 
TITLE II—EXPANDING ACCESS TO TOOLS TO PROTECT VULNER-
ABLE CONSUMERS FROM IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, OR A RE-
LATED CRIME, AND PROTECT VICTIMS FROM FURTHER HARM 
Sec. 201. Identity theft report definition. 
Sec. 202. Amendment to protection for files and credit records of protected con-
sumers. 
Sec. 203. Enhances fraud alert protections. 
Sec. 204. Amendment to security freezes for consumer reports. 
Sec. 205. Clarification of information to be included with agency disclosures. 
Sec. 206. Provides access to fraud records for victims. 
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Sec. 207. Required Bureau to set procedures for reporting identity theft, fraud, 
and other related crime. 
Sec. 208. Establishes the right to free credit monitoring and identity theft protec-
tion services for certain consumers. 
Sec. 209. Ensures removal of inquiries resulting from identity theft, fraud, or 
other related crime from consumer reports. 
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 
Sec. 301. Definitions. 
Sec. 302. Technical correction related to risk-based pricing notices. 
Sec. 303. FCRA findings and purpose; voids certain contracts not in the public 
interest. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) GENERAL FINDINGS.— 
(A) Consumer reporting agencies (‘‘CRAs’’) 
are companies that collect, compile, and provide 
information about consumers in the form of con-
sumer reports for certain permissible statutory 
purposes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (‘‘FCRA’’). The three 
largest CRAs in this country are Equifax, 
TransUnion, and Experian. These CRAs are re-
ferred to as nationwide CRAs and the reports 
that they prepare are commonly referred to as 
credit reports. Furnishers, such as creditors, 
lenders, and debt collection agencies, voluntarily 
submit information to CRAs about their ac-
counts such as the total amount for each loan or 
credit limit for each credit card and the con-
sumer’s payment history on these products. Re-
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ports also include identifying information about 
a consumer, such as their birthdate, previous 
mailing addresses, and current and previous em-
ployers. 
(B) In a December 2012 paper, ‘‘Key Di-
mensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Re-
porting System: A review for how the nation’s 
largest credit bureaus manage consumer data’’, 
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
(‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) noted that the three na-
tionwide CRAs maintain credit files on approxi-
mately 200 million adults and receive informa-
tion from about 10,000 furnishers. On a monthly 
basis, these furnishers provide information on 
over 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts or other 
trade lines. 
(C) The 10 largest institutions furnishing 
credit information to each of the nationwide 
CRAs account for more than half of all accounts 
reflected in consumers’ credit files. 
(D) Consumer reports play an increasingly 
important role in the lives of American con-
sumers. Most creditors, for example, review these 
reports to make decisions about whether to ex-
tend credit to consumers and what terms and 
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conditions to offer them. As such, information 
contained in these reports affects whether a per-
son is able to get a private education loan to pay 
for college costs, to secure a mortgage loan to buy 
a home, or to obtain a credit card, as well as the 
terms and conditions under which consumer 
credit products or services are offered to them. 
(E) Credit reports are also increasingly 
used for many noncredit decisions, including by 
landlords to determine whether to rent an apart-
ment to a prospective tenant and by employers 
to decide whether to hire potential job applicants 
or to offer a promotion to existing employees. 
(F) CRAs have a statutory obligation to 
verify independently the accuracy and complete-
ness of information included on the reports that 
they provide. 
(G) The nationwide CRAs have failed to es-
tablish and follow reasonable procedures, as re-
quired by existing law, to establish the max-
imum level of accuracy of information contained 
on consumer reports. Given the repeated failures 
of these CRAs to comply with accuracy require-
ments on their own, legislation is intended to 
provide them with detailed guidance improving 
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the accuracy and completeness of information 
contained in consumer reports, including proce-
dures, policies, and practices that these CRAs 
should already be following to ensure full compli-
ance with their existing obligations. 
(H) The presence of inaccurate or incom-
plete information on these reports can result in 
substantial financial and emotional harm to 
consumers. Credit reporting errors can lead to 
the loss of a new employment opportunity or a 
denial of a promotion in an existing job, stop 
someone from being able to access credit on fa-
vorable terms, prevent a person from obtaining 
rental housing, or even trigger mental distress. 
(I) Current industry practices impose an 
unfair burden of proof on consumers trying to 
fix errors on their reports. 
(J) Consumer reports containing inaccurate 
or incomplete credit information also undermine 
the ability of creditors and lenders to effectively 
and accurately underwrite and price credit. 
(K) Recognizing that credit reporting affects 
the lives of almost all consumers in this country 
and that the consequences of errors on a con-
sumer report can be catastrophic for a consumer, 
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the Consumer Bureau began accepting consumer 
complaints about credit reporting in October 
2012. 
(L) As of February 2017, the Consumer Bu-
reau has handled approximately 185,717 credit 
reporting complaints, making credit reporting 
consistently the third most-complained-about 
subject matter on which the Consumer Bureau 
accepts consumer complaints. 
(M) In the ‘‘Monthly Complaint Report Vol-
ume 20’’, released in February 2017, the Con-
sumer Bureau noted that 76 percent of credit re-
porting complaints involved incorrect informa-
tion on reports, with consumers frequently ex-
pressing their frustrations about the burdensome 
and time-consuming process to disputing items. 
(N) Other common types of credit reporting 
complaints submitted to the Consumer Bureau 
related to the improper use of a report, trouble 
obtaining a report or credit score, CRAs’ inves-
tigations, and credit monitoring or identity pro-
tection. 
(O) In the summer 2015 ‘‘Supervisory 
Highlights’’, the Consumer Bureau noted that 
one or more of the largest CRAs failed to ade-
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quately oversee furnishers to ensure that they 
were adhering to the CRA’s vetting policies and 
to establish proper procedures to verify public 
record information. 
(P) According to the fall 2016 ‘‘Supervisory 
Highlights’’, Consumer Bureau examiners deter-
mined that one or more debt collectors never in-
vestigated indirect disputes that lacked detail or 
were not accompanied by attachments with rel-
evant information from the consumer. Exam-
iners also found that notifications sent to con-
sumers about disputes considered frivolous failed 
to identify for the consumers the type of material 
that they could provide in order for the debt col-
lector to complete the investigation of the dis-
puted item. 
(Q) A February 2014 Consumer Bureau re-
port titled ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint Snap-
shot’’ found that consumers are confused about 
the extent to which the nationwide CRAs are re-
quired to provide them with validation and doc-
umentation of a debt that appears on their credit 
report. 
(R) As evidence that the current system 
lacks sufficient market incentives for CRAs to de-
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velop more robust procedures to increase the ac-
curacy and completeness of information on credit 
reports, litigation discovery documented by the 
National Consumer Law Center (‘‘NCLC’’), as 
part of a January 2009 report titled, ‘‘Auto-
mated Injustice: How a Mechanized Dispute Sys-
tem Frustrates Consumers Seeking to Fix Errors 
in Their Credit Reports’’, showed that at least 
two of the three largest CRAs use quota systems 
to force employees to process disputes hastily and 
without the opportunity for conducting meaning-
ful investigations. At least one nationwide CRA 
only allowed dispute resolution staff five minutes 
to handle a consumer’s call. Furthermore, these 
CRAs were found to have awarded bonuses for 
meeting quotas and punished those who didn’t 
meet production numbers with probation. 
(S) Unlike most other business relation-
ships, where consumers can register their satis-
faction or unhappiness with a particular credit 
product or service simply by taking their busi-
ness elsewhere, consumers have no say in whether 
their information is included in the CRAs data-
bases and limited legal remedies to hold the 
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CRAs accountable for inaccuracies or poor serv-
ice. 
(T) Accordingly, despite the existing statu-
tory mandate for CRAs to follow reasonable pro-
cedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy 
of the information whenever they prepare con-
sumer reports, numerous studies, the high volume 
of consumer complaints submitted to the Con-
sumer Bureau about incorrect information on 
consumer reports, and supervisory activities by 
the Consumer Bureau demonstrate that CRAs 
continue to skirt their obligations under the law. 
(2) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOANS.— 
(A) The Consumer Bureau’s October 2014 
report titled ‘‘Annual Report of the CFPB Stu-
dent Loan Ombudsman’’ noted many private 
education loan borrowers, who sought to nego-
tiate a modified repayment plan when they were 
experiencing a period of financial distress, were 
unable to get assistance from their loan holders, 
which often resulting in them defaulting on their 
loans. This pattern resembles the difficulty that 
a significant number of mortgage loan borrowers 
experienced when they sought to take responsible 
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steps to work with their mortgage loan servicer 
to avoid foreclosure during the Great Recession. 
(B) Although private student loan holders 
may allow a borrower to postpone payments 
while enrolled in school full-time, many limit 
this option to a certain time period, usually 48 
to 66 months. This limited time period may not 
be sufficient for those who need additional time 
to obtain their degree or who want to continue 
their education by pursing a graduate or profes-
sional degree. The Consumer Bureau found that 
borrowers who were unable to make payments 
often defaulted or had their accounts sent to col-
lections before they were even able to graduate. 
(3) DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AT CERTAIN PROPRI-
ETARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND CAREER EDU-
CATION PROGRAMS.— 
(A) NCLC cited the proliferation of law en-
forcement actions against many for-profit schools 
in its June 2014 report, titled ‘‘Ensuring Edu-
cational Integrity: 10 Steps to Improve State 
Oversight of For-profit Schools’’, to demonstrate 
the pervasive problem in this sector of targeting 
low-income students with deceptive high-pressure 
sales techniques involving inflated job placement 
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rates and misleading data on graduate wages, 
and false representations about the transfer-
ability of credits and the employability of grad-
uates in occupations that require licensure. Stu-
dent loan borrowers at these schools may be left 
with nothing but worthless credentials and large 
debt. Those who default on their student loans 
face years with damaged credit that will ad-
versely impact their ability to rent or buy homes, 
purchase cars, and find employment. 
(B) The closure and bankruptcy of Corin-
thian Colleges, which was found to have deceived 
students by steering them into high-interest stu-
dent loans based on misleading graduation rates 
and employment data, is a good example of the 
problem. Even after its closure, many Corinthian 
students remained saddled with student loan 
debt, worthless degrees, and few prospects for em-
ployment. 
(C) Attending a two-year, for-profit college 
costs, on average, four times as much as attend-
ing a community college. Students at for-profit 
colleges represent only about 11 percent of the 
total higher education population but a startling 
44 percent of all Federal student loan defaults, 
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according to the United States Department of 
Education (‘‘DOE’’). 
(D) According to NCLC, a disproportionate 
number of for-profit students are low-income and 
people of color. These schools target veterans, 
working parents, first-generation students, and 
non-English speaking students, who may be more 
likely than their public or private nonprofit 
school counterparts to drop out, incur enormous 
student debt, and default on this debt. In the 
2011–2012 school year, 28 percent of African 
Americans and 15 percent of Latinos attending 
four-year institutions were enrolled in a for-prof-
it school, compared to 10 percent of Whites. 
(E) As highlighted in a press release titled 
‘‘Obama Administration Announces Final Rules 
to Protect Students from Poor-Performing Career 
College Programs’’, that was issued by the DOE 
on October 30, 2014, ‘‘ƒt≈oo often, students at 
career colleges—including thousands of vet-
erans—are charged excessive costs, but don’t get 
the education they paid for. Instead, students in 
such programs are provided with poor quality 
training, often for low-wage jobs or in occupa-
tions where there are simply no job opportuni-
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ties. They find themselves with large amounts of 
debt and, too often, end up in default. In many 
cases, students are drawn into these programs 
with confusing or misleading information.’’. 
(4) MEDICAL DEBT.— 
(A) Research by the Consumer Bureau has 
found that the inclusion of medical collections on 
consumer reports has unfairly reduced con-
sumers’ credit scores. 
(B) The Consumer Bureau’s review of 5 
million anonymized credit files from September 
2011 to September 2013, for example, found that 
credit scores may underestimate a person’s cred-
itworthiness by up to 10 points for those who 
owe medical debt, and may underestimate a per-
son’s creditworthiness by up to 22 points after 
the medical debt has been paid. For consumers 
with lower credit scores, especially those on the 
brink of what is considered subprime, a 10 to 22 
point decrease in their credit scores can have a 
significant impact on their lives, including by 
affecting whether they are able to qualify for 
credit and, if so, the terms and conditions under 
which it is extended to them. 
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(C) The Consumer Bureau found that half 
of all collections trade lines that appear on con-
sumer reports are related to medical bills 
claimed to be owed to hospitals and other med-
ical providers. These trade lines affect the reports 
of nearly 1/5 of all consumers in the credit re-
porting system. 
(D) The Consumer Bureau has found that 
there are no objective or enforceable standards 
that determine when a debt can or should be re-
ported as a collection trade line. Because debt 
buyers and collectors determine whether, when, 
and for how long to report a collection account, 
there is only a limited relationship between the 
time period reported, the severity of a delin-
quency, and when or whether a collection trade 
line appears on a consumer’s credit report. 
(E) Medical bills can be complex and con-
fusing for many consumers, which results in con-
sumers’ uncertainty about what they owe, to 
whom, when, or for what, that may cause some 
people, who ordinarily pay their bills on time, to 
delay or withhold payments on their medical 
debts. This uncertainty can also result in med-
ical collections appearing on consumer reports. 
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In a December 2014 report titled ‘‘Consumer 
Credit Reports: A Study of Medical and Non- 
Medical Collections’’, the Consumer Bureau 
found that a large portion of consumers with 
medical collections show no other evidence of fi-
nancial distress and are consumers who ordi-
narily pay their other financial obligations on 
time. Unlike with most credit products or serv-
ices, such as credit cards, installment loans, util-
ities, or wireless or cable services that have con-
tractual account disclosures describing the terms 
and conditions of use, most consumers are not 
told what their out-of-pocket medical costs will be 
in advance. Consumers needing urgent or emer-
gency care rarely know, or are provided, the cost 
of a medical treatment or procedure before the 
service is rendered. 
(F) The Consumer Bureau concluded that 
the presence of medical collections is less pre-
dictive of future defaults or serious delinquencies 
than the presence of a nonmedical collection in 
a study titled ‘‘Data Point: Medical Debt and 
Credit Scores’’, issued in May 2014. 
(G) FICO’s latest credit scoring model, 
‘‘FICO 9’’, changes the treatment of paid collec-
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tions to disregard any collection matters that the 
consumer has paid in full. FICO 9, however, is 
not yet widely used by lenders. 
(H) VantageScore’s latest credit scoring 
model, ‘‘VantageScore 4.0’’, will be available in 
the fall of 2017. This model will penalize medical 
collections less than non-medical ones. 
(I) The three nationwide CRAs entered into 
a settlement agreement with the New York State 
attorney general in 2015 to address deficiencies 
in their dispute resolution process and enhance 
the accuracy of items on reports. These policy 
changes will be implemented in a three-phrased 
rollout, culminating by June 2018. Subsequently, 
these CRAs entered into a cooperative agreement 
with 31 State Attorneys General, which was the 
basis of the creation of the National Consumer 
Assistance Plan (‘‘NCAP’’) to change some of 
their business practices. 
(J) While the CRAs appear to be volun-
tarily adopting policy changes on a nationwide 
basis, they are not obligated to do so for con-
sumers who reside in States that are not party 
to any of the consent orders. 
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(K) As a result of the settlement agreements, 
the three nationwide CRAs will set a 180-day 
waiting period before including medical collec-
tions on a report and will remove a medical col-
lection from a report once it is paid by an insur-
ance company. While this change will benefit 
many, once a medical collection appears on a re-
port, it will only be deleted or suppressed if it 
is found to have been the insurance company’s 
obligation to pay and the insurer pays it. Given 
the research showing there is little predictive 
value in medical debt information, medical col-
lections that are paid or settled should quickly be 
removed from a report, regardless of who pays or 
settles this debt. 
(5) FINANCIAL ABUSE BY KNOWN PERSONS.— 
(A) Financial abuse and exploitation are 
frequently associated with domestic violence. 
This type of abuse may result in fraudulent 
charges to a credit card or having fraudulent ac-
counts created by the abuser in the survivor’s 
name. Financial abuse may also result in the 
survivor’s inability to make timely payments on 
their valid obligations due to loss or changes in 
income that can occur when their abuser steals 
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from or coerces the survivor to relinquish their 
paychecks or savings. 
(B) By racking up substantial debts in the 
survivor’s name, abusers are able to exercise fi-
nancial control over their survivors to make it 
economically difficult for the survivor, whose 
credit is often destroyed, to escape the situation. 
(C) Domestic abuse survivors with poor 
credit are likely to face significant obstacles in 
establishing financial independence from their 
abusers. This can be due, in part, because con-
sumer reports may be used when a person at-
tempts to obtain a checking account, housing, in-
surance, utilities, employment, and even a secu-
rity clearance as required for certain jobs. 
(D) Providing documentation of identity 
(‘‘ID’’) theft in order to dispute information on 
one’s consumer report can be particularly chal-
lenging for those who know their financial 
abuser. 
(E) While it is easier for consumers who ob-
tain a police report to remove fraudulent infor-
mation from their consumer report and prevent 
it from reappearing in the future, according to 
the Empire Justice Center, safety and other non-
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credit concerns may impact the capacity of a 
survivor of financial abuse committed by a 
known person to turn to law enforcement to get 
a police report. 
(F) According to the Legal Aid Society in 
New York, domestic abuse survivors, seeking to 
remove adverse information stemming from fi-
nancial abuse by contacting their furnishers di-
rectly, are likely to face skepticism about claims 
of ID theft perpetrated by a partner because of 
an assumption that they are aware of, and may 
have been complicit in, the activity which the 
survivor alleges stems from financial abuse. 
(6) DECEPTIVE
AND
MISLEADING
MARKETING 
PRACTICES.— 
(A) The Consumer Bureau’s February 2015 
report titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Reports 
and Scores’’ found that some consumers did not 
obtain a copy of their consumer report due to 
concerns about security or of being trapped into 
purchasing unwanted products like an addi-
tional report or a credit monitoring service. 
(B) In January 2017, the Consumer Bu-
reau fined TransUnion and Equifax for decep-
tively marketing credit scores for purchase by 
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consumers as the same credit scores typically 
used by lenders to determine creditworthiness 
and for luring consumers into costly subscription 
services that were advertised as ‘‘free’’ or ‘‘$1’’ 
that automatically charged recurring fees unless 
cancelled by consumers. The Consumer Bureau 
also found that Equifax was illegally advertising 
its products on webpages that consumers accessed 
through AnnualCreditReport.com before con-
sumers obtained their free disclosures. Because of 
these troubling practices, TransUnion was or-
dered to pay $13.9 million in restitution to 
harmed consumers and a civil penalty of $3 mil-
lion to the Consumer Bureau. Equifax was or-
dered to pay more than $3.7 million to affected 
consumers as well as a civil money penalty of 
$2.5 million to the Consumer Bureau. As part of 
the consent orders, the CRAs are also supposed 
to change the way that they sell their products 
to consumers. The CRAs must also obtain con-
sumers’ express consent before enrolling them 
into subscription services as well as make it 
easer for consumers to cancel these programs. 
(C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other 
nationwide CRA—Experian—in March 2017 for 
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deceiving consumers about the use of credit scores 
that it marketed and sold to consumers as credit 
scores that were used by lenders and for illegally 
advertising its products on web pages that con-
sumers 
accessed 
through 
AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained 
their free annual disclosures. Experian was or-
dered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitu-
tion to harmed consumers and a civil monetary 
penalty of $2.5 million to the Consumer Bureau. 
(D) The Consumer Bureau’s January and 
March 2017 consent orders with the three nation-
wide CRAs show that these CRAs have enticed 
consumers into purchasing products and services 
that they may not want or need, in some in-
stances by advertising products or services ‘‘free’’ 
that automatically converted into an ongoing 
subscription service at the regular price unless 
cancelled by the consumer. Although these CRAs 
must now change their deceptive marketing prac-
tices, codifying these duties is an appropriate 
way to ensure that these companies never revert 
back to such misleading tactics. 
(E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer 
reports in consumers’ lives and the fact that con-
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sumers’ participation in the credit reporting sys-
tem is involuntary, CRAs should also prioritize 
providing consumers with the effective means to 
safeguard their personal and financial informa-
tion and improve their credit standing, rather 
than seeking to exploit consumers’ concerns and 
confusion about credit reporting and scoring, to 
boost their companies’ profits. 
(F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legiti-
mate concerns about the security of their per-
sonal and financial information, deserve clear, 
accurate, and transparent information about the 
credit reporting tools that may be available to 
them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. 
(7) PROTECTIONS FOR CONSUMERS’ CREDIT IN-
FORMATION.— 
(A) Despite heightened awareness, incidents 
of ID theft continue to rise. In February 2015, 
the FTC reported that ID theft was the top con-
sumer complaint that it received for the 15th 
consecutive year. As these incidents increase, 
consumers experience significant financial loss 
and emotional distress from the inability to safe-
guard effectively and inexpensively their credit 
information from bad actors. 
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(B) According to a Carnegie Mellon study, 
children are 50 times more likely than adults to 
have their identities stolen. Child identities are 
valuable to thieves because most children do not 
have existing files, and their parents may not 
notice fraudulent activity until their child ap-
plies for a student loan, a job, or a credit card. 
As a result, the fraudulent activity of the bad ac-
tors may go undetected for years. 
(C) Despite the increasing incidents of chil-
dren’s ID theft, parents who want to proactively 
prevent their children from having their identity 
stolen, may not be able to do so. Only one of the 
three nationwide CRAs currently allows parents 
from any State to set up a freeze for a minor 
child. At the other two nationwide CRAs, par-
ents can only obtain a freeze after a child has be-
come an ID theft victim because, it is only at 
this point, that these CRAs have an existing 
credit file for the child. While many States have 
enacted laws to address this problem, there is no 
existing Federal law. 
(D) According to Javelin Strategy & 
Research’s 2015 Identity Fraud study, $16 bil-
lion was stolen by fraudsters from 12.7 million 
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American consumers in 2014. Similarly, the 
United States Department of Justice found an 
estimated 7 percent of all residents age 16 or 
older (about 17.6 million persons) in this coun-
try were victims of one or more incidents of ID 
theft in 2014, and the number of elderly victims 
age 65 or older (about 86 percent) increased 
from 2.1 million in 2012 to 2.6 million in 2014. 
(E) Consumers frequently express concern 
about the security of their financial information. 
According to a 2015 MasterCard survey, a ma-
jority of consumers (77 percent) have anxiety 
about the possibility that their financial infor-
mation and Social Security numbers may be sto-
len or compromised, with about 55 percent of 
consumers indicating that they would rather 
have naked pictures of themselves leaked online 
than have their financial information stolen. 
(F) That survey also revealed that con-
sumers’ fears about the online security of their 
financial information even outweighed con-
sumers’ worries about other physical security 
dangers such as having their houses robbed (59 
percent) or being pickpocketed (46 percent). 
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(G) According to Consumer Reports, rough-
ly 50 million American consumers spent about 
$3.5 billion in 2010 to purchase products aimed 
at protecting their identity, with the annual cost 
of these services ranging from $120 to $300. As 
risks to consumers’ personal and financial infor-
mation continue to grow, consumers need addi-
tional protections to ensure that they have fair 
and reasonable access to the full suite of ID theft 
and fraud prevention measures that may be 
right for them. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise specified, the amendments made 
by this Act shall take effect 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. GENERAL BUREAU RULEMAKING. 
Except as otherwise provided, not later than the end 
of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
shall issue final rules to implement the amendments made 
by this Act. 
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TITLE I—RESTORING THE IM-
PAIRED CREDIT OF VICTIMS 
OF 
PREDATORY 
ACTIVITIES 
AND UNFAIR CONSUMER RE-
PORTING PRACTICES 
SEC. 101. SHORTENS THE TIME PERIOD THAT MOST AD-
VERSE CREDIT INFORMATION STAYS ON CON-
SUMER REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Except as authorized under 
subsection (b), no’’ and inserting ‘‘No’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘10 
years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Civil 
suits, civil judgments, and records’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Records’’; 
(D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘seven 
years’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years’’; 
(E) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘seven 
years’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years, except as pro-
vided in paragraph (8), (10), (11), (12), or (13), 
or as required by section 605C, 605D, 605E, or 
605F’’; 
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(F) in paragraph (5)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘, other than records of 
convictions of crimes’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘seven years’’ and in-
serting ‘‘4 years, except as required by sec-
tion 605C, 605D, 605E, or 605F’’; and 
(G) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) Civil suits and civil judgments (except as 
provided in paragraph (8)) that, from date of entry, 
antedate the report by more than 4 years or until the 
governing statute of limitations has expired, which-
ever is the longer period. 
‘‘(10) A civil suit or civil judgment— 
‘‘(A) brought by a private education loan 
holder that, from the date of successful comple-
tion of credit restoration or rehabilitation in ac-
cordance with the requirements of section 605D 
or 605E, antedates the report by 45 calendar 
days; or 
‘‘(B) brought by a lender with respect to a 
covered residential mortgage loan that antedates 
the report by 45 calendar days. 
‘‘(11) Records of convictions of crimes which 
antedate the report by more than 7 years. 
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‘‘(12) Any other adverse item of information re-
lating to the collection of debt that did not arise from 
a contract or an agreement to pay by a consumer, in-
cluding fines, tickets, and other assessments, as deter-
mined by the Bureau, excluding tax liability.’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 
subsections (c) through (h) as subsections (b) through 
(g), respectively; and 
(3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) 
and (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘4-year period referred to in 
paragraphs (4) and (5)’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681) is amended— 
(1) in section 616(d), by striking ‘‘section 
605(g)’’ each place that term appears and inserting 
‘‘section 605(f)’’; and 
(2) in section 625(b)(5)(A), by striking ‘‘section 
605(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 605(f)’’. 
SEC. 102. MANDATES THE EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF FULLY 
PAID OR SETTLED DEBT FROM CONSUMER 
REPORTS. 
Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 101(a)(1), is fur-
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ther amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(13) Any other adverse item of information re-
lated to a fully paid or settled debt that had been 
characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collec-
tion which, from the date of payment or settlement, 
antedates the report by more than 45 calendar days.’’. 
SEC. 103. IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON THE APPEARANCE OF 
MEDICAL COLLECTIONS ON CONSUMER RE-
PORTS AND REQUIRES THE EXPEDITED RE-
MOVAL OF FULLY PAID OR SETTLED MEDICAL 
COLLECTIONS FROM CONSUMER REPORTS. 
(a) REMOVAL OF FULLY PAID OR SETTLED MEDICAL 
DEBT FROM CONSUMER REPORTS.—Section 605(a) of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amend-
ed by section 102, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(14) Any other adverse item of information re-
lated to a fully paid or settled debt arising from the 
receipt of medical services, products, or devices that 
had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or 
in collection which, from the date of payment or set-
tlement, antedates the report by more than 45 cal-
endar days.’’. 
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(b) ESTABLISHING AN EXTENDED TIME PERIOD BE-
FORE CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT INFORMATION MAY BE RE-
PORTED.—Section 605(a) of such Act is further amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(15) Any information related to a debt arising 
from the receipt of medical services, products, or de-
vices, if the date on which such debt was placed for 
collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to 
any similar action antedates the report by less than 
365 calendar days.’’. 
(c) PROHIBITION ON REPORTING MEDICALLY NEC-
ESSARY PROCEDURES.—Section 605(a) of such Act is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(16) Any information related to a debt arising 
from a medically necessary procedure.’’. 
(d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 604(g)(1)(C) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)(1)(C)) 
is further amended by striking ‘‘devises’’ and inserting ‘‘de-
vices’’. 
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SEC. 104. PROVIDES CREDIT RESTORATION FOR VICTIMS 
OF PREDATORY MORTGAGE LENDING AND 
SERVICING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
605B the following new section: 
‘‘§ 605C. Credit restoration for victims of predatory 
mortgage lending 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agency may 
not furnish any consumer report containing any adverse 
item of information relating to a covered residential mort-
gage loan (including the origination and servicing of such 
a loan, any loss mitigation activities related to such a loan, 
and any foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or short sale 
related to such a loan), if the action or inaction to which 
the item of information relates— 
‘‘(1) resulted from an unfair, deceptive, or abu-
sive act or practice, or a fraudulent, discriminatory, 
or illegal activity of a financial institution, as deter-
mined by the Bureau or a court of competent jurisdic-
tion; or 
‘‘(2) is related to an unfair, deceptive, or abusive 
act, practice, or a fraudulent, discriminatory, or ille-
gal activity of a financial institution that is the sub-
ject of a settlement agreement initiated on behalf of 
a consumer or consumers and that is between the fi-
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nancial institution and an agency or department of 
a local, State, or Federal Government, regardless of 
whether such settlement includes an admission of 
wrongdoing. 
‘‘(b) COVERED RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘covered residential mort-
gage loan’ means any loan primarily for personal, family, 
or household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, 
or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwell-
ing (as defined in section 103(w) of the Truth in Lending 
Act), including a loan in which the proceeds will be used 
for— 
‘‘(1) a manufactured home (as defined in section 
603 of the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402)); 
‘‘(2) any installment sales contract, land con-
tract, or contract for deed on a residential property; 
or 
‘‘(3) a reverse mortgage transaction (as defined 
in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act).’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 605B the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘605C. Credit restoration for victims of predatory mortgage lending.’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
section shall take effect at the end of the 18-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 105. PROVIDES CREDIT RELIEF FOR PRIVATE EDU-
CATION LOANS BORROWERS WHO WERE DE-
FRAUDED OR MISLEAD BY PROPRIETARY 
EDUCATION INSTITUTION OR CAREER EDU-
CATION PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 104, is further 
amended by inserting after section 605C the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 605D. Private education loan credit restoration for 
defrauded student borrowers who attend 
certain proprietary educational institu-
tion or career education programs 
‘‘(a) PROCESS FOR CERTIFICATION AS A QUALIFYING 
PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN BORROWER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer may submit a 
request to the Bureau, along with a defraudment 
claim, to be certified as a qualifying private edu-
cation loan borrower with respect to a private edu-
cation loan. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Bureau shall certify 
a consumer described in paragraph (1) as a quali-
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fying private education loan borrower with respect to 
a private education loan if the Bureau or a court of 
competent jurisdiction determines that the consumer 
has a valid defraudment claim with respect to such 
loan. 
‘‘(b) REMOVAL OF ADVERSE INFORMATION.—Upon re-
ceipt of a notice described in subsection (d)(5), a consumer 
reporting agency shall remove any adverse information re-
lating to any private education loan with respect to which 
a consumer is a qualifying private education loan borrower 
from any consumer report within 45 calendar days of re-
ceipt of such notification. 
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE.—The Bureau shall disclose the re-
sults of a certification determination in writing to the con-
sumer that provides a clear and concise explanation of the 
basis for the determination of whether such consumer is a 
qualifying private education loan borrower with respect to 
a private education loan and, as applicable, an explanation 
of the consumer’s right to have adverse information relating 
to such loan removed from their consumer report by a con-
sumer reporting agency. 
‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—The Bureau shall— 
‘‘(1) establish procedures for a consumer to sub-
mit a request described in subsection (a); 
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‘‘(2) establish procedures to efficiently review, ac-
cept, and process such a request; 
‘‘(3) develop ongoing outreach initiatives and 
education programs to inform consumers of the cir-
cumstances under which such consumer may be eligi-
ble to be certified as a qualifying private education 
loan borrower with respect to a private education 
loan; 
‘‘(4) establish procedures, including the manner, 
form, and content of the notice informing a private 
educational loan holder of the prohibition on report-
ing any adverse information relating to a private 
education loan with respect to which a consumer is 
a qualifying private education loan borrower; and 
‘‘(5) establish procedures, including the manner, 
form, and content of the notice informing a consumer 
reporting agency of the obligation to remove any ad-
verse information as described in subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) STANDARDIZED REPORTING CODES.—A consumer 
reporting agency shall develop standardized reporting codes 
for use by private education loan holders to identify and 
report a qualifying private education loan borrower’s status 
of a request to remove any adverse information relating to 
any private education loan with respect to which such con-
sumer is a qualifying private education loan borrower. A 
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consumer report in which a person furnishes such codes 
shall be deemed to comply with the requirements for accu-
racy and completeness required under sections 623(a)(1) 
and 630. Such codes shall not appear on any report pro-
vided to a third party, and shall be removed from the con-
sumer’s credit report upon the successful restoration of the 
consumer’s credit under this section. 
‘‘(f) DEFRAUDMENT CLAIM DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘defraudment claim’ means a claim 
made with respect to a consumer who is a borrower of a 
private education loan with respect to a proprietary edu-
cational institution or career education program in which 
the consumer alleges that— 
‘‘(1) the proprietary educational institution or 
career education program— 
‘‘(A) engaged in an unfair, deceptive, or 
abusive act or practice, or a fraudulent, dis-
criminatory, or illegal activity— 
‘‘(i) as defined by State law of the 
State in which the proprietary educational 
institution or career education program is 
headquartered or maintains or maintained 
significant operations; or 
‘‘(ii) under Federal law; 
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‘‘(B) is the subject of an enforcement order, 
a settlement agreement, a memorandum of un-
derstanding, a suspension of tuition assistance, 
or any other action relating to an unfair, decep-
tive, or abusive act or practice that is between 
the proprietary educational institution or career 
education program and an agency or department 
of a local, State, or Federal Government; or 
‘‘(C) misrepresented facts to students or ac-
crediting agencies or associations about gradua-
tion or gainful employment rates in recognized 
occupations or failed to provide the coursework 
necessary for students to successfully obtain a 
professional certification or degree from the pro-
prietary educational institution or career edu-
cation program; or 
‘‘(2) the consumer has submitted a valid defense 
to repayment claim with respect to such loan, as de-
termined by the Secretary of Education.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 605C (as added 
by section 104) the following new item: 
‘‘605D. Private education loan credit restoration for defrauded student borrowers 
who attend certain proprietary educational institution or career 
education programs.’’. 
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SEC. 106. ESTABLISHES RIGHT FOR VICTIMS OF FINANCIAL 
ABUSE TO HAVE ADVERSE INFORMATION AS-
SOCIATED WITH AN ABUSER’S FRAUDULENT 
ACTIVITY REMOVED FROM THEIR CONSUMER 
REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by section 105, is further 
amended by inserting after section 605D the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 605E. Financial abuse prevention 
‘‘For a consumer who is the victim of intentionally 
abusive or harmful financial behavior, as determined by a 
court of competent jurisdiction including a family court, 
juvenile court, or other court with personal jurisdiction, 
that was conducted by a spouse, family or household mem-
ber, caregiver, or person with whom such consumer had a 
dating relationship in a manner which resulted in the in-
clusion of an adverse item of information on the consumer 
report of the consumer, and the consumer did not partici-
pate in or consent to such behavior, the consumer may 
apply to a court of competent jurisdiction, including a fam-
ily court, juvenile court, or other court with personal juris-
diction, for an order to require the removal of such adverse 
information from the consumer’s file maintained by any 
consumer reporting agency.’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 605D the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘605E. Financial abuse prevention.’’. 
SEC. 107. PROHIBITS TREATMENT OF CREDIT RESTORA-
TION OR REHABILITATION AS ADVERSE IN-
FORMATION. 
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘§ 630. Prohibition of certain factors related to Fed-
eral credit restoration or rehabilitation 
‘‘(a) RESTRICTION ON CREDIT SCORING MODELS.—A 
credit scoring model may not— 
‘‘(1) take into consideration, in a manner ad-
verse to a consumer’s credit score or educational cred-
it score, any information in a consumer report con-
cerning the consumer’s participation in credit res-
toration or rehabilitation under section 605C, 605D, 
or 605E; or 
‘‘(2) treat negatively, in a manner adverse to a 
consumer’s credit score or educational credit score, the 
absence of payment history data for an existing ac-
count, whether the account is open or closed, where 
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the absence of such information is the result of a con-
sumer’s participation in credit restoration or reha-
bilitation under section 605C, 605D, or 605E. 
‘‘(b) RESTRICTION
ON PERSONS OBTAINING CON-
SUMER REPORTS.—A person who obtains a consumer re-
port may not— 
‘‘(1) take into consideration, in a manner ad-
verse to a consumer, any information in a consumer 
report concerning the consumer’s participation in 
credit restoration or rehabilitation under section 
605C, 605D, or 605E; or 
‘‘(2) treat negatively the absence of payment his-
tory data for an existing account, whether the account 
is open or closed, where the absence of such informa-
tion is the result of a consumer’s participation in 
credit restoration or rehabilitation under section 
605C, 605D, or 605E. 
‘‘(c) ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS.—If a person who 
furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency re-
quests the removal of information from a consumer report 
or a consumer reporting agency removes information from 
a consumer report in compliance with the requirements 
under section 605C, 605D, or 605E, or such information 
was removed pursuant at section 605(a)(11), such report 
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shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements for accuracy and 
completeness with respect to such information. 
‘‘(d) PROHIBITION RELATED TO ADVERSE ACTIONS 
AND RISK-BASED PRICING DECISIONS.—No person shall 
use information related to a consumer’s participation in 
credit restoration or rehabilitation under section 605C, 
605D, or 605E in connection with any determination of— 
‘‘(1) the consumer’s eligibility or continued eligi-
bility for an extension of credit; 
‘‘(2) the terms and conditions offered to a con-
sumer regarding an extension of credit; or 
‘‘(3) an adverse action made for employment 
purposes.’’; and 
(2) in the table of contents for such Act, by add-
ing at the end the following new item: 
‘‘630. Prohibition of certain factors related to Federal credit restoration or reha-
bilitation.’’. 
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TITLE 
II—EXPANDING 
ACCESS 
TO TOOLS TO PROTECT VUL-
NERABLE CONSUMERS FROM 
IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, OR 
A RELATED CRIME, AND PRO-
TECT 
VICTIMS 
FROM 
FUR-
THER HARM 
SEC. 201. IDENTITY THEFT REPORT DEFINITION. 
Paragraph (4) of section 603(q) of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(4)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(4) IDENTITY THEFT REPORT.—The term ‘iden-
tity theft report’ has the meaning given that term by 
rule of the Bureau, and means, at a minimum, a re-
port— 
‘‘(A) that is a standardized affidavit that 
alleges that a consumer has been a victim of 
identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, or has 
been harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of 
the consumer’s financial or personally identifi-
able information, that was developed and made 
available by the Bureau; or 
‘‘(B)(i) that alleges an identity theft, fraud, 
or a related crime, or alleges harm from the un-
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authorized disclosure of the consumer’s financial 
or personally identifiable information; 
‘‘(ii) that is a copy of an official, valid re-
port filed by a consumer with an appropriate 
Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, 
including the United States Postal Inspection 
Service, or such other government agency deemed 
appropriate by the Bureau; and 
‘‘(iii) the filing of which subjects the person 
filing the report to criminal penalties relating to 
the filing of false information if, in fact, the in-
formation in the report is false.’’. 
SEC. 202. AMENDMENT TO PROTECTION FOR FILES AND 
CREDIT 
RECORDS 
OF 
PROTECTED 
CON-
SUMERS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF ‘‘FILE’’.—Section 
603(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681a(g)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except that such term 
excludes a record created pursuant to section 605A(j)’’ after 
‘‘stored’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT
TO PROTECTION
FOR FILES
AND 
CREDIT RECORDS.—Section 605A(j) of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(j)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘ONE-CALL’’ and inserting ‘‘ONE-YEAR’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘INITIAL ALERTS’’ and inserting ‘‘IN 
GENERAL’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or harmed by the un-
authorized disclosure of the consumer’s fi-
nancial or personally identifiable informa-
tion,’’ after ‘‘identity theft,’’; 
(iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(iv) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘1-year’’ before 
‘‘fraud alert’’; and 
(II) by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(v) by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) upon the expiration of the 1-year pe-
riod described in subparagraph (A) or a subse-
quent 1-year period, and in response to a direct 
request by the consumer or such representative, 
continue the fraud alert for a period of 1 addi-
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tional year if the information asserted in this 
paragraph remains applicable.’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by in-
serting ‘‘AND
CREDIT
OR
EDUCATIONAL 
CREDIT SCORES’’ after ‘‘REPORTS’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘1-year’’ before ‘‘fraud 
alert’’; 
(iii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
‘‘and credit score or educational credit 
score’’ after ‘‘file’’; and 
(iv) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘any request described in subparagraph 
(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘the consumer reporting 
agency includes the 1-year fraud alert in 
the file of a consumer’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘SEVEN-YEAR’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘5-year period be-
ginning on the date of such request’’ 
and inserting ‘‘such 7-year period’’; 
and 
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(II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (C)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘extended’’ and in-
serting ‘‘7-year’’; and 
(II) by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) upon the expiration of such 7-year pe-
riod or a subsequent 7-year period, and in re-
sponse to a direct request by the consumer or 
such representative, continue the fraud alert for 
a period of 7 additional years if the consumer or 
such representative submits an updated identity 
theft report.’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by in-
serting ‘‘AND
CREDIT
OR
EDUCATIONAL 
CREDIT SCORES’’ after ‘‘REPORTS’’; and 
(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(A) disclose to the consumer that the con-
sumer may request a free copy of the file and 
credit score or educational credit score of the 
consumer pursuant to section 612(d) during each 
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12-month period beginning on the date on which 
the 7-year fraud alert was included in the file 
and ending on the date of the last day that the 
7-year fraud alert applies to the consumer’s file; 
and’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or edu-
cational credit score’’ after ‘‘credit score’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 
and (3), as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re-
spectively (and conforming the margins accord-
ingly); 
(C) by striking ‘‘Upon the direct request’’ 
and inserting: 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Upon the direct request’’; 
and 
(D) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) ACCESS TO FREE REPORTS AND CREDIT OR 
EDUCATIONAL
CREDIT
SCORES.—If a consumer re-
porting agency includes an active duty alert in the 
file of an active duty military consumer, the con-
sumer reporting agency shall— 
‘‘(A) disclose to the active duty military 
consumer that the active duty military consumer 
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may request a free copy of the file and credit 
score or educational credit score of the active 
duty military consumer pursuant to section 
612(d), during each 12-month period beginning 
on the date that the activity duty military alert 
is requested and ending on the date of the last 
day the active duty alert applies to the file of the 
active duty military consumer; and 
‘‘(B) provide to the active duty military 
consumer all disclosures required to be made 
under section 609, without charge to the con-
sumer, not later than 3 business days after any 
request described in subparagraph (A).’’; 
(4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(d) PROCEDURES.—Each consumer reporting agency 
described in section 603(p) shall include on the webpage re-
quired under subsection (i) policies and procedures to com-
ply with this section, including policies and procedures— 
‘‘(1) that inform consumers of the availability of 
1-year fraud alerts, 7-year fraud alerts, active duty 
alerts, and security freezes (as applicable); 
‘‘(2) that allow consumers to request 1-year 
fraud alerts, 7-year fraud alerts, and active duty 
alerts (as applicable) and to place, temporarily lift, 
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or fully remove a security freeze in a simple and easy 
manner; and 
‘‘(3) for asserting in good faith a suspicion that 
the consumer has been or is about to become a victim 
of identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, or harmed 
by the unauthorized disclosure of the consumer’s fi-
nancial or personally identifiable information, for a 
consumer seeking a 1-year fraud alert or security 
freeze.’’; 
(5) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘1-year or 7- 
year’’ before ‘‘fraud alert’’; 
(6) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘or active duty 
alert’’ and inserting ‘‘active duty alert, or security 
freeze (as applicable)’’; 
(7) in subsection (g)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘or has been harmed by the 
unauthorized disclosure of the consumer’s finan-
cial or personally identifiable information, or to 
inform such agency of the consumer’s participa-
tion in credit restoration or rehabilitation under 
section 605C, 605D, or 605E,’’ after ‘‘identity 
theft,’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘or security freezes’’ after 
‘‘request alerts’’; 
(8) in subsection (h)— 
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(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘INITIAL’’ and inserting ‘‘1-YEAR’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘initial’’ and inserting 
‘‘1-year’’ each place such term appears; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by strik-
ing ‘‘EXTENDED’’ and inserting ‘‘7-YEAR’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘extended’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘7-year’’ each place such term appears; 
and 
(9) in subsection (i)(4)— 
(A) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (I); 
and 
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F), 
(G), (H), and (J) as subparagraphs (E), (F), 
(G), and (H), respectively. 
SEC. 204. AMENDMENT TO SECURITY FREEZES FOR CON-
SUMER REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605A(i) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(i)) is amended— 
(1) by amending the subsection heading to read 
as follows: ‘‘SECURITY FREEZES FOR CONSUMER RE-
PORTS’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (3)(E), by striking ‘‘Upon re-
ceiving’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subparagraph 
(C),’’ and inserting ‘‘Upon receiving a direct request 
from a consumer for a temporary removal of a secu-
rity freeze, a consumer reporting agency shall’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—This subsection 
does not modify or supersede the laws of any State re-
lating to security freezes or other similar actions, ex-
cept to the extent those laws are inconsistent with any 
provision of this title, and then only to the extent of 
the inconsistency. For purposes of this subsection, a 
term or provision of a State law is not inconsistent 
with the provisions of this subsection if the term or 
provision affords greater protection to the consumer 
than the protection provided under this subsection as 
determined by the Bureau.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT TO WEBPAGE REQUIREMENTS.—Sec-
tion 605A(i)(6)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681c–1(i)(6)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘initial fraud 
alert’’ and inserting ‘‘1-year fraud alert’’; 
(2) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘extended fraud 
alert’’ and inserting ‘‘7-year fraud alert’’; and 
(3) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘fraud’’. 
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(c) AMENDMENT TO EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN PER-
SONS.—Section 605A(i)(4)(A) of the Consumer Credit Pro-
tection Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(i)(4)(A)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(A) A person, or the person’s subsidiary, 
affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee with 
whom the consumer has, or prior to assignment 
had, an authorized account, contract, or debtor- 
creditor relationship for the purposes of review-
ing the active account or collecting the financial 
obligation owed on the account, contract, or 
debt.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 205. CLARIFICATION OF INFORMATION TO BE IN-
CLUDED WITH AGENCY DISCLOSURES. 
Section 609(c)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(c)(2)) 
is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘consumer reporting agency 
described in section 603(p)’’ and inserting ‘‘con-
sumer reporting agency described in subsection 
(p) or (x) of section 603’’; 
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(B) by striking ‘‘the agency’’ and inserting 
‘‘such an agency’’; and 
(C) by inserting ‘‘and an Internet website 
address’’ after ‘‘hours’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘outdated 
under section 605 or’’ and inserting ‘‘outdated, re-
quired to be removed, or’’. 
SEC. 206. PROVIDES ACCESS TO FRAUD RECORDS FOR VIC-
TIMS. 
Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681g(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘resulting from identity 
theft’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘claim of identity theft’’ 
and inserting ‘‘claim of fraudulent activity’’; 
and 
(C) by striking ‘‘any transaction alleged to 
be a result of identity theft’’ and inserting ‘‘any 
fraudulent transaction’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘identity theft, at the elec-
tion of the business entity’’ and inserting ‘‘fraud-
ulent activity’’; 
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(B) by amending clause (i) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(i) a copy of an identity theft report; 
or’’; and 
(C) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(ii) an affidavit of fact that is accept-
able to the business entity for that pur-
pose.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ‘‘identity 
theft’’ and inserting ‘‘fraudulent activity’’; 
(4) by striking paragraph (8) and redesignating 
paragraphs (9) through (13) as paragraphs (8) 
through (12), respectively; and 
(5) in paragraph (10) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘or a similar crime’’ and inserting ‘‘, fraud, 
or a related crime’’. 
SEC. 207. REQUIRED BUREAU TO SET PROCEDURES FOR RE-
PORTING 
IDENTITY 
THEFT, 
FRAUD, 
AND 
OTHER RELATED CRIME. 
Section 621(f)(2) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681s(f)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
‘‘MODEL FORM’’ and inserting ‘‘STANDARDIZED AFFI-
DAVIT’’; 
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(2) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and inserting 
‘‘The Bureau’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘model form’’ and inserting 
‘‘standardized affidavit’’; 
(4) by inserting after ‘‘identity theft’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘, fraud, or a related crime, or otherwise are 
harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of the con-
sumer’s financial or personally identifiable informa-
tion,’’; and 
(5) by striking ‘‘fraud.’’ and inserting ‘‘identity 
theft, fraud, or other related crime. Such standardized 
affidavit and procedures shall not include a require-
ment that a consumer obtain a police report.’’. 
SEC. 208. ESTABLISHES THE RIGHT TO FREE CREDIT MONI-
TORING AND IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION 
SERVICES FOR CERTAIN CONSUMERS. 
(a) ENFORCEMENT
OF CREDIT MONITORING
FOR 
SERVICEMEMBERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (k) of section 605A 
(15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(a)) is amended by striking para-
graph (4). 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection and the 
amendments made by this subsection shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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(b) FREE CREDIT MONITORING AND IDENTITY THEFT 
PROTECTION SERVICES FOR CERTAIN CONSUMERS.—Sub-
section (k) of section 605A (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1), is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(k) CREDIT MONITORING AND IDENTITY THEFT PRO-
TECTION SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the direct request of a 
consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in 
section 603(p) that maintains a file on the consumer 
and has received appropriate proof of the identity of 
the requester (as described in section 1022.123 of title 
12, Code of Federal Regulations) shall provide the 
consumer with credit monitoring and identity theft 
protection services not later than 1 business day after 
receiving such request sent by postal mail, toll-free 
telephone, or secure electronic means as established by 
the agency. 
‘‘(2) FEES.— 
‘‘(A) CLASSES
OF
CONSUMERS.—The Bu-
reau may establish classes of consumers eligible 
to receive credit monitoring and identity theft 
protection services free of charge. 
‘‘(B) NO FEE.—A consumer reporting agen-
cy described in section 603(p) may not charge a 
consumer a fee to receive credit monitoring and 
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identity theft protection services if the consumer 
or a representative of the consumer— 
‘‘(i) asserts in good faith a suspicion 
that the consumer has been or is about to 
become a victim of identity theft, fraud, or 
a related crime, or harmed by the unauthor-
ized disclosure of the consumer’s financial 
or personally identifiable information; 
‘‘(ii) is unemployed and intends to 
apply for employment in the 60-day period 
beginning on the date on which the request 
is made; 
‘‘(iii) is a recipient of public welfare 
assistance; 
‘‘(iv) is an active duty military con-
sumer or a member of the National Guard 
(as defined in section 101(c) of title 10, 
United States Code); 
‘‘(v) is 65 years of age or older; or 
‘‘(vi) is a member of a class established 
by the Bureau under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(3) BUREAU RULEMAKING.—The Bureau shall 
issue regulations— 
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‘‘(A) to define the scope of credit monitoring 
and identity theft protection services required 
under this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) to set a fair and reasonable fee that a 
consumer reporting agency may charge a con-
sumer (other than a consumer described under 
paragraph (2)(B)) for such credit monitoring 
and identity theft protection services. 
‘‘(4) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—This subsection 
does not modify or supersede of the laws of any State 
relating to credit monitoring and identity theft pro-
tection services or other similar actions, except to the 
extent those laws are inconsistent with any provision 
of this title, and then only to the extent of the incon-
sistency. For purposes of this subsection, a term or 
provision of a State law is not inconsistent with the 
provisions of this subsection if the term or provision 
affords greater protection to the consumer than the 
protection provided under this subsection as deter-
mined by the Bureau.’’. 
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SEC. 209. ENSURES REMOVAL OF INQUIRIES RESULTING 
FROM IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, OR OTHER 
RELATED CRIME FROM CONSUMER REPORTS. 
Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 103, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(17) Information about inquiries made for a 
credit report based on requests that the consumer re-
porting agency verifies were initiated as the result of 
identity theft, fraud, or other related crime.’’. 
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 
SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(bb) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO DAYS.— 
‘‘(1) CALENDAR DAY; DAY.—The term ‘calendar 
day’ or ‘day’ means a calendar day, excluding any 
federally recognized holiday. 
‘‘(2) BUSINESS DAY.—The term ‘business day’ 
means a day between and including Monday to Fri-
day, and excluding any federally recognized holi-
day.’’. 
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SEC. 302. TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATED TO RISK- 
BASED PRICING NOTICES. 
Section 615(h)(8) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681m) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘this sec-
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘this subsection’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘This sec-
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘This subsection’’. 
SEC. 303. FCRA FINDINGS AND PURPOSE; VOIDS CERTAIN 
CONTRACTS NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. 
(a) FCRA FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—Section 602 of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) Many financial and non-financial decisions af-
fecting consumers’ lives depend upon fair, complete, and ac-
curate credit reporting. Inaccurate and incomplete credit 
reports directly impair the efficiency of the financial system 
and undermine the integrity of using credit reports in other 
circumstances, and unfair credit reporting and credit scor-
ing methods undermine the public confidence which is es-
sential to the continued functioning of the financial services 
system and the provision of many other consumer products 
and services.’’; and 
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(B) in paragraph (4), by inserting after 
‘‘agencies’’ the following: ‘‘, furnishers, and cred-
it scoring developers’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘It is the purpose of this 
title to require’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘The purpose of this title is the following: 
‘‘(1) To require’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) To prohibit any practices and procedures 
with respect to credit reports and credit scores that 
are not in the public interest.’’. 
(b) VOIDING OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS NOT IN THE 
PUBLIC INTEREST.— 
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 
et seq.), as amended by section 107, is further amend-
ed— 
(1) by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘§ 631. Voiding of certain contracts not in the public 
interest 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any provision contained in a con-
tract that requires a person to not follow a provision of 
this title, that is against the public interest, or that other-
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wise circumvents the purposes of this title shall be null and 
void. 
‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in subsection 
(a) shall be construed as affecting other provisions of a con-
tract that are not described under subsection (a).’’; and 
(2) in the table of contents for such Act, by add-
ing at the end the following new item: 
‘‘631. Voiding of certain contracts not in the public interest.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 287 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 3622 
[Report No. 116–362] 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore 
the impaired credit of victims of predatory activi-
ties and unfair consumer reporting practices, to 
expand access to tools to protect vulnerable con-
sumers from identity theft, fraud, or a related 
crime, and protect victims from further harm, 
and for other purposes. 
DECEMBER 23, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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