Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Innocent 
Consumers Affected by a Shutdown Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 302(b)(1) of the Eco-
nomic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection 
Act (Public Law 115–174), is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(bb) EMPLOYEE AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—With 
respect to a shutdown, the term ‘employee affected by a shut-
down’ means a consumer who— 
‘‘(1) is an employee of— 
‘‘(A) the Federal Government, and who is 
furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 
the shutdown; 
‘‘(B) the District of Columbia, and who is 
not receiving pay because of the shutdown; or 
‘‘(C) a Federal contractor (as defined under 
section 7101 of title 41, United States Code) or 
other business, and who has experienced a sub-
stantial reduction in pay (directly or indirectly) 
due to the shutdown; and 
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‘‘(2) who— 
‘‘(A) is listed in the database established 
under section 630; or 
‘‘(B) has self-certified pursuant to such sec-
tion. 
‘‘(cc) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘shutdown’ means any 
period in which there is more than a 24-hour lapse in ap-
propriations as a result of a failure to enact a regular ap-
propriations bill or continuing resolution. 
‘‘(dd) COVERED SHUTDOWN PERIOD.—The term ‘cov-
ered shutdown period’ means, with respect to a shutdown, 
the period beginning on the first day of the shutdown and 
ending on the date that is 90 days after the last day of 
the shutdown.’’. 
SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUT-
DOWN. 
Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681c(a)), as amended by section 302(b)(2) of the 
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Pro-
tection Act (Public Law 115–174), is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) Any adverse item of information with re-
spect to an action or inaction taken during a covered 
shutdown period by an employee affected by a shut-
down.’’. 
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SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO SUMMARY OF RIGHTS FOR EM-
PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 
Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) Information on the rights of an employee 
affected by a shutdown, including which consumers 
may be an employee affected by a shutdown and the 
process for a consumer to self-certify as an employee 
affected by a shutdown under section 630.’’. 
SEC. 5. DATABASE AND SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR EMPLOY-
EES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 630. Database and self-certification for employees 
affected by a shutdown 
‘‘(a) DATABASE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each shut-
down, the consumer reporting agencies described in 
section 603(p) shall jointly establish a database that 
includes employees affected by the shutdown as re-
ported pursuant to paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF DATABASE.— 
‘‘(A) FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES AND CON-
TRACTORS.—Each authority of the executive, leg-
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islative, or judicial branch of the Federal Gov-
ernment or District of Columbia shall provide to 
the consumer reporting agencies described in sec-
tion 603(p) a list identifying— 
‘‘(i) employees of such authority that 
are furloughed, excepted from furlough, or 
not receiving pay because of a shutdown; 
and 
‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, employ-
ees of contractors of such authority. 
‘‘(B) SELF-CERTIFIED CONSUMERS.—A con-
sumer that self-certifies as an employee affected 
by a shutdown pursuant to subsection (b) shall 
be included in the database, unless the Bureau 
determines such consumer is not an employee af-
fected by a shutdown. 
‘‘(3) ACCESS TO DATABASE.—The consumer re-
porting agencies described in section 603(p) shall 
make the database established under this subsection 
available to the Bureau, other consumer reporting 
agencies, furnishers of information to consumer re-
porting agencies, and users of consumer reports. A 
consumer reporting agency described in section 603(x) 
shall periodically access the database to confirm the 
accuracy of information such an agency has that 
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identifies a consumer as an employee affected by a 
shutdown. 
‘‘(b) SELF-CERTIFICATION
PROCESS.—A consumer 
shall be deemed to be an employee affected by a shutdown 
if such consumer self-certifies through— 
‘‘(1) the website established under subsection (c); 
or 
‘‘(2) a toll-free telephone number established by 
a consumer reporting agency. 
‘‘(c) WEBSITE.—The consumer reporting agencies de-
scribed in section 603(p) shall jointly establish a website 
for a consumer to self-certify as an employee affected by 
a shutdown. Such website may not include any advertise-
ment or other solicitation.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘630. Database and self-certification for employees affected by a shutdown.’’. 
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST EM-
PLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN. 
Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(h) PROHIBITION
ON ADVERSE ACTIONS AGAINST 
EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.—If a user of a 
consumer report knows that a consumer is an employee af-
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