I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2547 
To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicemember, and small business 
protections with respect to debt collection practices, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2021 
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. DEAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. TLAIB) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To expand and enhance consumer, student, servicemember, 
and small business protections with respect to debt col-
lection practices, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS LENDING FAIRNESS ACT 
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Sec. 101. Short title. 
Sec. 102. Obligor transactions. 
Sec. 103. Enforcement of security interests. 
TITLE II —FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR 
SERVICEMEMBERS ACT 
Sec. 201. Short title. 
Sec. 202. Enhanced 
protection 
against 
debt 
collector 
harassment 
of 
servicemembers. 
Sec. 203. GAO study and report. 
TITLE III—PRIVATE LOAN DISABILITY DISCHARGE ACT 
Sec. 301. Short title. 
Sec. 302. Protections for obligors and cosigners in case of death or total and 
permanent disability. 
TITLE IV—CONSUMER PROTECTION FOR MEDICAL DEBT 
COLLECTIONS ACT 
Sec. 401. Short title. 
Sec. 402. Amendments to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 
Sec. 403. Prohibition on consumer reporting agencies reporting certain medical 
debt. 
Sec. 404. Requirements for furnishers of medical debt information. 
TITLE V—ENDING DEBT COLLECTION HARASSMENT ACT 
Sec. 501. Short title. 
Sec. 502. Consumer protections relating to debt collection practices. 
TITLE VI—STOP DEBT COLLECTION ABUSE ACT 
Sec. 601. Short title. 
Sec. 602. Definitions. 
Sec. 603. Debt collection practices for debt collectors hired by Federal agencies. 
Sec. 604. Unfair practices. 
Sec. 605. GAO study and report. 
TITLE VII—DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES HARMONIZATION ACT 
Sec. 701. Short title. 
Sec. 702. Award of damages. 
Sec. 703. Prohibition on the referral of emergency individual assistance debt. 
TITLE VIII—NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE DEBT COLLECTION 
CLARIFICATION ACT 
Sec. 801. Short title. 
Sec. 802. Enforcement of security interests. 
TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 901. Effective date. 
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TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS 
LENDING FAIRNESS ACT 
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Lend-
ing Fairness Act’’. 
SEC. 102. OBLIGOR TRANSACTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend-
ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 140B. Unfair credit practices 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In connection with the extension 
of credit or creation of debt in or affecting commerce, as 
defined in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 44), including any advance of funds or sale 
or assignment of future income or receivables that may 
or may not be credit, no person may directly or indirectly 
take or receive from another person an obligation that con-
stitutes or contains a cognovit or confession of judgment 
(for purposes other than executory process in the State 
of Louisiana), warrant of attorney, or other waiver of the 
right to notice and the opportunity to be heard in the 
event of suit or process thereon. 
‘‘(b) EXEMPTION.—The exemption in section 104(1) 
shall not apply to this section.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) Section 130(a) of the Truth in Lending Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1640) is amended by striking ‘‘creditor’’ 
each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘person’’. 
(2) The table of sections in chapter 2 of the 
Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘140B. Unfair credit practices.’’. 
SEC. 103. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 
Section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
1602) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(ff) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation of a per-
son to pay to another person money— 
‘‘(1) regardless of whether such obligation is 
absolute or contingent; 
‘‘(2) that includes the right of the person pro-
viding the money to an equitable remedy for breach 
of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to 
payment; and 
‘‘(3) regardless of whether the obligation or 
right to an equitable remedy described in paragraph 
(2) has been reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, 
matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, recourse, 
nonrecourse, secured, or unsecured.’’. 
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TITLE II—FAIR DEBT COLLEC-
TION 
PRACTICES 
FOR 
SERVICEMEMBERS ACT 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Debt Collection 
Practices for Servicemembers Act’’. 
SEC. 202. ENHANCED PROTECTION AGAINST DEBT COL-
LECTOR 
HARASSMENT 
OF 
SERVICEMEMBERS. 
(a) COMMUNICATION IN CONNECTION WITH DEBT 
COLLECTION.—Section 805 of the Fair Debt Collection 
Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692c) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING SERVICEMEM-
BER DEBTS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘covered member’ means— 
‘‘(A) a covered member or a dependent as 
defined in section 987(i) of title 10, United 
States Code; and 
‘‘(B)(i) an individual who was separated, 
discharged, or released from duty described in 
such section 987(i)(1), but only during the 365- 
day period beginning on the date of separation, 
discharge, or release; or 
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‘‘(ii) a person, with respect to an individual 
described in clause (i), described in subpara-
graph (A), (D), (E), or (I) of section 1072(2) 
of title 10, United States Code. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.—A debt collector may not, 
in connection with the collection of any debt of a 
covered member— 
‘‘(A) threaten to have the covered member 
reduced in rank; 
‘‘(B) threaten to have the covered mem-
ber’s security clearance revoked; or 
‘‘(C) threaten to have the covered member 
prosecuted under chapter 47 of title 10, United 
States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Jus-
tice).’’. 
(b) UNFAIR PRACTICES.—Section 808 of the Fair 
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) The representation to any covered member 
(as defined under section 805(e)(1)) that failure to 
cooperate with a debt collector will result in— 
‘‘(A) a reduction in rank of the covered 
member; 
‘‘(B) a revocation of the covered member’s 
security clearance; or 
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‘‘(C) prosecution under chapter 47 of title 
10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of 
Military Justice).’’. 
SEC. 203. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study on the impact of debt collec-
tion on covered members (as defined under section 
805(e)(1) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, as 
added by section 202), which shall— 
(1) identify types of false, deceptive, misleading, 
unfair, abusive, and harassing debt collection prac-
tices experienced by covered members and make rec-
ommendations to eliminate these practices; 
(2) identify collection practices of creditors and 
debt collectors experienced by covered members; 
(3) discuss the effect of these practices on mili-
tary readiness; and 
(4) discuss any national security implications, 
including the extent to which covered members with 
security clearances would be impacted by uncollected 
debt. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 
completed study required under subsection (a). 
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TITLE III—PRIVATE LOAN 
DISABILITY DISCHARGE ACT 
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Private Loan Dis-
ability Discharge Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 302. PROTECTIONS FOR OBLIGORS AND COSIGNERS IN 
CASE OF DEATH OR TOTAL AND PERMANENT 
DISABILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 140(g) of the Truth in 
Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(g)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘IN CASE 
OF DEATH OF BORROWER’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after 
‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per-
manent disability’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after 
‘‘of the death’’, the following: ‘‘or total and per-
manent disability’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) DISCHARGE IN CASE OF DEATH OR TOTAL 
AND PERMANENT DISABILITY OF BORROWER.—The 
holder of a private education loan shall, when noti-
fied of the death or total and permanent disability 
of a student obligor, discharge the liability of the 
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student obligor on the loan and may not, after such 
notification— 
‘‘(A) attempt to collect on the outstanding 
liability of the student obligor; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent 
disability, monitor the disability status of the 
student obligor at any point after the date of 
discharge. 
‘‘(4) PRIVATE DISCHARGE IN CASES OF CER-
TAIN DISCHARGE FOR DEATH OR DISABILITY.—The 
holder of a private education loan shall, when noti-
fied of the discharge of liability of a student obligor 
on a loan described under section 108(f)(5)(A) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, discharge any li-
ability of the student obligor (and any cosigner) on 
any private education loan which the private edu-
cation loan holder holds and may not, after such no-
tification— 
‘‘(A) attempt to collect on the outstanding 
liability of the student obligor; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of total and permanent 
disability, monitor the disability status of the 
student obligor at any point after the date of 
discharge. 
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‘‘(5) TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY DE-
FINED.—For the purposes of this subsection and 
with respect to an individual, the term ‘total and 
permanent disability’ means the individual is totally 
and permanently disabled, as such term is defined in 
section 685.102(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Reg-
ulations.’’. 
(b) RULEMAKING.—The Director of the Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection may issue rules to imple-
ment the amendments made by subsection (a) as the Di-
rector determines appropriate. 
TITLE IV—CONSUMER PROTEC-
TION 
FOR 
MEDICAL 
DEBT 
COLLECTIONS ACT 
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Protection 
for Medical Debt Collections Act’’. 
SEC. 402. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION 
PRACTICES ACT. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 803 of the Fair Debt Col-
lection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) The term ‘medical debt’ means a debt 
arising from the receipt of medical services, 
products, or devices.’’. 
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(b) UNFAIR PRACTICES.—Section 808 of the Fair 
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f), as 
amended by section 202(b), is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(10) Engaging in activities to collect or 
attempting to collect a medical debt owed or 
due or asserted to be owed or due by a con-
sumer, before the end of the 2-year period be-
ginning on the date that the first payment with 
respect to such medical debt is due.’’. 
SEC. 403. PROHIBITION ON CONSUMER REPORTING AGEN-
CIES REPORTING CERTAIN MEDICAL DEBT. 
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(bb) MEDICAL DEBT.—The term ‘medical debt’ 
means a debt arising from the receipt of medical services, 
products, or devices. 
‘‘(cc) MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURE.—The 
term ‘medically necessary procedure’ means— 
‘‘(1) health care services or supplies needed to 
diagnose or treat an illness, injury, condition, dis-
ease, or its symptoms and that meet accepted stand-
ards of medicine; and 
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‘‘(2) health care to prevent illness or detect ill-
ness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to 
work best (including preventive services such as pap 
tests, flu shots, and screening mammograms).’’. 
(b) 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 paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) Any information related to a debt arising 
from a medically necessary procedure. 
‘‘(10) Any information related to a medical 
debt, 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.’’. 
SEC. 404. REQUIREMENTS FOR FURNISHERS OF MEDICAL 
DEBT INFORMATION. 
(a) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED-
ICAL DEBT.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR MED-
ICAL DEBT.—Before furnishing information regarding a 
medical debt of a consumer to a consumer reporting agen-
cy, the person furnishing the information shall send a 
statement to the consumer that includes the following: 
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‘‘(1) A notification that the medical debt— 
‘‘(A) may not be included on a consumer 
report made by a consumer reporting agency 
until the later of the date that is 365 days 
after— 
‘‘(i) the date on which the person 
sends the statement; 
‘‘(ii) with respect to the medical debt 
of a borrower demonstrating hardship, a 
date determined by the Director of the Bu-
reau; or 
‘‘(iii) the date described under section 
605(a)(10); and 
‘‘(B) may not ever be included on a con-
sumer report made by a consumer reporting 
agency, if the medical debt arises from a medi-
cally necessary procedure. 
‘‘(2) A notification that, if the debt is settled or 
paid by the consumer or an insurance company be-
fore the end of the period described under paragraph 
(1)(A), the debt may not be reported to a consumer 
reporting agency. 
‘‘(3) A notification that the consumer may— 
‘‘(A) communicate with an insurance com-
pany to determine coverage for the debt; or 
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‘‘(B) apply for financial assistance.’’. 
(b) FURNISHING
OF
MEDICAL
DEBT
INFORMA-
TION.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681s–2), as amended by subsection (a), is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) FURNISHING
OF MEDICAL DEBT INFORMA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION
ON
REPORTING
DEBT
RE-
LATED TO MEDICALLY NECESSARY PROCEDURES.— 
No person shall furnish any information to a con-
sumer reporting agency regarding a debt arising 
from a medically necessary procedure. 
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL DEBT IN-
FORMATION.—With respect to a medical debt not 
described under paragraph (1), no person shall fur-
nish any information to a consumer reporting agen-
cy regarding such debt before the end of the 365- 
day period beginning on the later of— 
‘‘(A) the date on which the person sends 
the statement described under subsection (f) to 
the consumer; 
‘‘(B) with respect to the medical debt of a 
borrower demonstrating hardship, a date deter-
mined by the Director of the Bureau; or 
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‘‘(C) 
the 
date 
described 
in 
section 
605(a)(10). 
‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF SETTLED OR PAID MED-
ICAL DEBT.—With respect to a medical debt not de-
scribed under paragraph (1), no person shall furnish 
any information to a consumer reporting agency re-
garding such debt if the debt is settled or paid by 
the consumer or an insurance company before the 
end of the 365-day period described under para-
graph (2). 
‘‘(4) BORROWER
DEMONSTRATING
HARDSHIP 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, and with respect to a 
medical debt, the term ‘borrower demonstrating 
hardship’ means a borrower or a class of borrowers 
who, as determined by the Director of the Bureau, 
is facing or has experienced extenuating life cir-
cumstances or events that result in severe financial 
or personal barriers such that the borrower or class 
of borrowers does not have the capacity to repay the 
medical debt.’’. 
TITLE V—ENDING DEBT 
COLLECTION HARASSMENT ACT 
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Debt Collec-
tion Harassment Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 502. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS RELATING TO DEBT 
COLLECTION PRACTICES. 
(a) REPORTS ON DEBT COLLECTION COMPLAINTS 
AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 
(1) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 1016(c) of 
the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 
U.S.C. 5496(c)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) an analysis of the consumer complaints 
received by the Bureau with respect to debt collec-
tion, including a State-by-State breakdown of such 
complaints; and 
‘‘(11) a list of enforcement actions taken 
against debt collectors during the preceding year.’’. 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 815(a) of the 
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692m(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new sentence: ‘‘Each such report shall also 
include an analysis of the impact of electronic com-
munications by debt collectors on consumer experi-
ences with debt collection, including a consideration 
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of consumer complaints about the use of electronic 
communications in debt collection.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.— 
Section 1022 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 
of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5512) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON DEBT COLLECTION RULES.— 
The Director may not issue any rule with respect to debt 
collection that allows a debt collector to send unlimited 
email and text messages to a consumer.’’. 
(c) PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS FROM UNLIMITED 
TEXTS AND EMAILS USED IN DEBT COLLECTION.—Sec-
tion 806 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 
U.S.C. 1692d) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) Contacting the consumer electronically (in-
cluding by email or text message) without consent of 
the consumer to communicate via that method, after 
such consent has been withdrawn, or more fre-
quently than the consumer consents to be con-
tacted.’’. 
(d) ENSURING CONSUMERS RECEIVE NOTICE
OF 
DEBT COLLECTION PROTECTIONS.—Section 809(a) of the 
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)) 
is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 
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method for which such consumer had given prior 
consent.’’. 
TITLE VI—STOP DEBT 
COLLECTION ABUSE ACT 
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Debt Collection 
Abuse Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘facilitating 
collection of such debt for another’’ and inserting 
‘‘collection of such debt’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(5) The term ‘debt’ means any obligation or 
alleged obligation of a consumer— 
‘‘(A) to pay money arising out of a trans-
action in which the money, property, insurance 
or services which are the subject of the trans-
action are primarily for personal, family, or 
household purposes, whether or not such obliga-
tion has been reduced to judgment; 
‘‘(B) to pay a loan, overpayment, fine, pen-
alty, restitution, fee, or other money currently 
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or originally owed to or guaranteed by a Fed-
eral or State government, including any courts 
or agencies; or 
‘‘(C) which is secured by real or personal 
property that is used or was obtained primarily 
for personal, family, or household purposes, 
where such property is subject to forfeiture or 
repossession upon nonpayment of the obligation 
or alleged obligation.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
through (F) as clauses (i) through (vi), respec-
tively; 
(B) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by 
inserting ‘‘(not including an independent con-
tractor)’’ after ‘‘any State’’; 
(C) by amending clause (vi), as so redesig-
nated, to read as follows: 
‘‘(vi) any person collecting or attempting 
to collect any debt owed or due or asserted to 
be owed or due another to the extent such ac-
tivity— 
‘‘(I) is incidental to a bona fide fidu-
ciary obligation or a bona fide escrow ar-
rangement; 
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‘‘(II) concerns a debt which was origi-
nated by such person; 
‘‘(III) concerns a debt which was not 
in default at the time it was obtained by 
such person; or 
‘‘(IV) concerns a debt obtained by 
such person as a secured party in a com-
mercial credit transaction involving the 
creditor.’’; 
(D) by striking the first and second sen-
tences and inserting the following: 
‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘debt collector’ means— 
‘‘(i) any person who uses any instrumen-
tality of interstate commerce or the mails in 
any business the principal purpose of which is 
the collection of any debts; 
‘‘(ii) any person who regularly collects or 
attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, by the 
person’s own means or by hiring another debt 
collector, debts owed or due or asserted to be 
owed or due another or that have been obtained 
by assignment or transfer from another; 
‘‘(iii) any person who regularly collects 
debts currently or originally owed or allegedly 
owed to a Federal or State agency or court; or 
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‘‘(iv) 
notwithstanding 
subparagraph 
(B)(vi), any creditor who in the process of col-
lecting debts of such creditor, uses another 
name that would indicate that a third person is 
collecting or attempting to collect such debts.’’; 
and 
(E) in the fourth sentence, by striking 
‘‘The term does not’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) The term does not’’. 
SEC. 603. DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR DEBT COL-
LECTORS HIRED BY FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Debt Collection Prac-
tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 812 (15 U.S.C. 1692j) the following: 
‘‘§ 812A. Debt collection practices for debt collectors 
hired by Federal agencies 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON TIME TO TURN DEBT OVER TO 
DEBT COLLECTOR.—A Federal agency that is a creditor 
may sell or transfer a debt described in section 803(5)(B) 
to a debt collector not earlier than 90 days after the date 
on which the obligation or alleged obligation becomes de-
linquent or defaults. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRED NOTICE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before transferring or sell-
ing a debt described in section 803(5)(B) to a debt 
collector or contracting with a debt collector to col-
lect such a debt, a Federal agency shall notify the 
consumer not fewer than 3 times that the Federal 
agency will take such action. 
‘‘(2) FREQUENCY
OF
NOTIFICATIONS.—The 
second and third notifications described in para-
graph (1) shall be made not less than 30 days after 
the date on which the previous notification is 
made.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 812 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘812A. Debt collection practices for debt collectors hired by Federal agencies.’’. 
SEC. 604. UNFAIR PRACTICES. 
Section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended by striking paragraph (1) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) The collection of any amount (including 
any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the 
principal obligation) unless— 
‘‘(A) such amount is expressly authorized 
by the agreement creating the debt or permitted 
by law; and 
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‘‘(B) in the case of any amount charged by 
a debt collector collecting a debt described in 
section 803(5)(B), such amount is— 
‘‘(i) reasonable in relation to the ac-
tual costs of the collection; 
‘‘(ii) authorized by a contract between 
the debt collector and the Federal or State 
government; and 
‘‘(iii) not greater than 10 percent of 
the amount collected by the debt col-
lector.’’. 
SEC. 605. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall commence a study on the use of debt collec-
tors by Federal, State, and local government agencies, in-
cluding— 
(1) the powers given to the debt collectors by 
Federal, State, and local government agencies; 
(2) the contracting process that allows a Fed-
eral, State, or local government agency to award 
debt collection to a certain company, including the 
selection process; 
(3) any fees charged to debtors in addition to 
principal and interest on the outstanding debt; 
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time of noncompliance,’’ before ‘‘the frequency’’ 
each place it appears; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 
‘‘(1) INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, the Bureau shall provide a percentage in-
crease (rounded to the nearest multiple of $100 or 
$1,000, as applicable) in the amounts set forth in 
this section equal to the percentage by which— 
‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 
average) for the 12-month period ending on the 
June 30 preceding the date on which the per-
centage increase is provided, exceeds 
‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the 12- 
month period preceding January 1, 1978. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—With respect to 
any fiscal year beginning after the date of the in-
crease provided under paragraph (1), the Bureau 
shall provide a percentage increase (rounded to the 
nearest multiple of $100 or $1,000, as applicable) in 
the amounts set forth in this section equal to the 
percentage by which— 
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‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers (all items, United States city 
average) for the 12-month period ending on the 
June 30 preceding the beginning of the fiscal 
year for which the increase is made, exceeds 
‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the 12- 
month period preceding the 12-month period 
described in subparagraph (A).’’. 
(2) APPLICABILITY.—The increases made under 
section 813(f) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act, as added by paragraph (1)(C) of this sub-
section, shall apply with respect to failures to comply 
with a provision of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.) occurring on or after the date of enactment of 
this section. 
(b) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Section 813(d) of the Fair 
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(d)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In a civil 
action alleging a violation of this title, the court may 
award appropriate relief, including injunctive relief.’’. 
SEC. 703. PROHIBITION ON THE REFERRAL OF EMERGENCY 
INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE DEBT. 
Chapter 3 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
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(1) in subchapter II, by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘§ 334. Prohibition on the referral of emergency indi-
vidual assistance debt 
‘‘With respect to any assistance provided by the Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency to an individual or 
household pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122 et 
seq.), if the Secretary of the Treasury seeks to recoup any 
amount of such assistance because of an overpayment, the 
Secretary may not contract with any debt collector as de-
fined in section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Prac-
tices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) or other private party to 
collect such amounts, unless the overpayment occurred be-
cause of fraud or deceit and the recipient of such assist-
ance knew or should have known about such fraud or de-
ceit.’’; and 
(2) in the table of contents for such chapter, by 
inserting after the item relating to section 333 the 
following: 
‘‘334. Prohibition on the referral of emergency individual assistance debt.’’. 
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TITLE 
VIII—NON-JUDICIAL 
FORECLOSURE 
DEBT 
COL-
LECTION CLARIFICATION ACT 
SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Non-Judicial Fore-
closure Debt Collection Clarification Act’’. 
SEC. 802. ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITY INTERESTS. 
Section 803(6) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘For 
the purpose of section 808(6), such term also includes any 
person who uses any instrumentality of interstate com-
merce or the mails in any business the principal purpose 
of which is the enforcement of security interests.’’. 
TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 901. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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