Title: Federal Employee Credit Score Protection Act of 2019
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Federal Employee Credit Score Protection Act of 2019
This bill prohibits a credit score provider from lowering the credit score of certain individuals affected by a federal government shutdown occurring from December 22, 2018, until October 1, 2019. A creditor is also prohibited from denying credit or providing credit on less favorable terms for those individuals.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1286 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1286

To prohibit consumer credit reporting agencies and lenders from taking 
 adverse action against federal employees and contractors impacted by 
            the government shutdown, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2019

Mr. Sherman (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Kilmer, and Mr. 
    Rouda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit consumer credit reporting agencies and lenders from taking 
 adverse action against federal employees and contractors impacted by 
            the government shutdown, 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 ``Federal Employee Credit Score 
Protection Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON LOWERING THE CREDIT SCORES OF COVERED 
              INDIVIDUALS.

    (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 sections:
``Sec. 630. Prohibitions relating to credit scores during a shutdown
    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), a covered entity may 
not lower the credit score of a covered individual who fails to pay any 
qualified expense or obligation during the period beginning on the 
first day of a shutdown and ending on the date that is 60 days after 
the date on which the shutdown ends, if the covered individual pays the 
qualified expense or obligation within such period.
    ``(b) Requirements and Procedures.--
            ``(1) Identification.--A covered entity shall, to the 
        extent practicable, identify covered individuals eligible under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(2) Assistance from the office of personnel management.--
        The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall, to 
        the extent practicable, assist covered entities in identifying 
        covered individuals.
            ``(3) Notification by individuals.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date that is 60 days after the date on which a 
        shutdown ends, a covered individual may notify a covered entity 
        that the covered entity may not lower the credit score of the 
        covered individual pursuant to subsection (a), and if such 
        credit score has been lowered, such covered individual may seek 
        a reversal of that action.
    ``(c) Notification by Entities.--A covered entity shall notify the 
public--
            ``(1) of the requirement described under subsection (a); 
        and
            ``(2) how a covered individual may--
                    ``(A) inform the entity of the eligibility of the 
                individual under subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) submit such reasonable materials deemed 
                necessary to confirm such eligibility.
    ``(d) Duties of Consumer Reporting Agencies.--A consumer reporting 
agency that receives a credible notification that a covered individual 
is eligible under subsection (a) shall--
            ``(1) notify covered entities of the eligibility of such 
        covered individual;
            ``(2) to the extent practicable, inform other consumer 
        reporting agencies of the eligibility of such covered 
        individual; and
            ``(3) in the event the credit score of a covered individual 
        was lowered prior to receipt of such credible notification, 
        take all necessary measures to reverse that action and restore 
        the credit score of the covered individual such that it 
        reflects the credit score such covered individual would have 
        received absent the consideration of the nonpayment of a 
        qualified expense or obligation.
    ``(e) Enforcement.--Upon petition by a covered individual, the 
Bureau may--
            ``(1) require a covered entity to make appropriate 
        adjustments to the credit score of the covered individual; and
            ``(2) issue a fine or take another enforcement action, as 
        determined by the Bureau.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' means an 
        entity that develops a credit score.
            ``(2) Covered individual.--The term `covered individual' 
        means--
                    ``(A) an employee of the Federal Government who is 
                furloughed or excepted from furlough during the 
                shutdown;
                    ``(B) a Federal contractor who, during any lapse in 
                Federal appropriations, is not receiving pay by reason 
                of such lapse; and
                    ``(C) a spouse of an individual described under 
                subparagraph (A) or (B).
            ``(3) Credit score.--The term `credit score' has the 
        meaning given in section 609(f)(2).
            ``(4) Qualified expense or obligation.--The term `qualified 
        expense or obligation' means any payment, including a partial 
        payment, of a covered individual relating to a mortgage loan, 
        rent, credit cards, medical expenses, automobile purchases or 
        leases, student loans, insurance premiums, utilities, and other 
        recurring payments or expenses ordinarily incurred by such 
        covered individual (as determined by the Bureau).
            ``(5) Shutdown.--The term `shutdown' means the period of a 
        lapse in appropriations beginning on or after December 22, 
        2018, and that ends before October 1, 2019.
``Sec. 631. Prohibition on adverse lending determinations for covered 
              individuals
    ``(a) Prohibition.--A creditor (as defined in section 103 of the 
Truth in Lending Act) may not knowingly deny credit, or knowingly 
provide credit on less favorable terms than would otherwise be 
provided, to a covered individual who fails to pay any qualified 
expense or obligation during the period beginning on the first day of a 
shutdown and ending on the date that is 60 days after the date on which 
the shutdown ends, if the covered individual pays the qualified expense 
or obligation within such period.
    ``(b) Enforcement.--The Bureau may issue a fine or take another 
enforcement action, as determined by the Bureau, against a creditor 
that violates subsection (a) if the Bureau determines by a 
preponderance of the evidence that the fact that the covered individual 
failed to pay a qualified expense while not receiving pay by reason of 
a lapse in Federal appropriations, or during the 60-day period 
immediately following such lapse in Federal appropriations, was a 
substantial factor in the action taken by the creditor that violated 
subsection (a).
    ``(c) Definitions.--The terms `covered individual', `qualified 
expense or obligation', and `shutdown' have the meanings given those 
terms, respectively, in section 631.''.
    (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 
items:

``630. Prohibitions relating to credit scores during a shutdown.
``631. Prohibition on adverse lending determinations for covered 
                            individuals.''.
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