Title: Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act
This bill prohibits a debt collector from (1) representing to servicemembers that failure to cooperate with a debt collector will result in a reduction of rank, a revocation of security clearance, or military prosecution; or (2) communicating with a servicemember's superiors in the chain of command.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5003 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5003

  To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide enhanced 
 protection against debt collector harassment of members of the Armed 
                    Forces, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2019

   Ms. Dean introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide enhanced 
 protection against debt collector harassment of members of the Armed 
                    Forces, 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 ``Fair Debt Collection Practices for 
Servicemembers Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED PROTECTION AGAINST DEBT COLLECTOR HARASSMENT OF 
              MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

    (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 Servicemember Debts.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `covered 
        member'--
                    ``(A) has the meaning given the term in section 
                987(i)(1) of title 10, United States Code; and
                    ``(B) means 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.
            ``(2) Prohibitions.--A debt collector may not, in 
        connection with the collection of any debt of a covered 
        member--
                    ``(A) communicate with any individual above a 
                covered member in the chain of command, including for 
                the purpose of acquiring location information about the 
                covered member;
                    ``(B) threaten to have the covered member reduced 
                in rank; or
                    ``(C) threaten to have the covered member's 
                security clearance revoked.''.
    (b) Unfair Practices.--Section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection 
Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692f) is amended 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
                    ``(C) prosecution under chapter 47 of title 10, 
                United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military 
                Justice).''.
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