Title: Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act
This bill applies consumer debt collection protections to small businesses, including protections regarding debt collection methods and third-party debt collection.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2884 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2884

To apply the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to small business debt 
  to the same extent as such Act applies to consumers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2019

   Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To apply the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to small business debt 
  to the same extent as such Act applies to consumers, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Fair Debt Collection 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES FOR LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 803 (15 U.S.C. 1692a)--
                    (A) by striking (5) and inserting the following:
            ``(5) The term `debt' means any obligation or alleged 
        obligation to pay money arising out of a transaction, whether 
        or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) The term `commercial credit bureau' means any person 
        that--
                    ``(A) for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative 
                nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part 
                in the practice of assembling or evaluating commercial 
                credit information or other information on businesses 
                for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third 
                parties; and
                    ``(B) uses any means or facility of interstate 
                commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing 
                consumer reports.
            ``(10) The term `consumer reports' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 603 of this Act.''; and
            (2) by inserting after section 818 the following:
``Sec. 818A. Application to small business debt
    ``(a) Definition.--The term `small business debt'--
            ``(1) means any nonequity obligation or alleged obligation 
        of a partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, 
        association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, 
        or other entity that is less than $5,000,000; and
            ``(2) does not include any obligation or alleged 
        obligation--
                    ``(A) of an individual; or
                    ``(B) that is primarily for personal, family, or 
                household purposes.
    ``(b) Application.--This Act shall apply to small business debt to 
the same extent as this Act applies to debt.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 818 the following:

``818A. Application to small business debt.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 805(b), by inserting ``or a commercial 
        credit bureau (as applicable)'' after ``consumer reporting 
        agency'';
            (2) in section 806(3)--
                    (A) by striking ``consumers who'' and inserting 
                ``consumers or small businesses that''; and
                    (B) by inserting `` or to a commercial credit 
                bureau (as applicable),'' after ``consumer reporting 
                agency''; and
            (3) in section 807(16), by inserting ``or a commercial 
        credit bureau'' after ``this Act''.
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