International Remittance Consumer Protection Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-5315
Sponsor: Rep. Gutierrez, Luis V. [D-IL-4]
Introduced: 2004-10-08 in the House
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Automated clearing houses
Automated teller machines
Bank accounts
Bank loans
Caribbean area
Commerce
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer education
Consumer protection
Credit unions
Department of the Treasury
Developing countries
Development credit institutions
Economic assistance
Economic development
Economic statistics
Economics and Public Finance
El Salvador
Electronic funds transfers
Electronic government information
English language
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Reserve System
Federal preemption
Fees
Financial institutions
Financial services
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign banks and banking
Foreign exchange
Foreign loans
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Housing and Community Development
Housing finance
International Affairs
Jamaica
Language and languages
Latin America
Law
Licenses
Mexico
Mortgage banks
Mortgages
National Credit Union Administration
Public service advertising
Science, Technology, Communications
Small business
Standards
State laws

Summary:
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: 
 International Remittance Consumer Protection Act of 2004 - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require a remittance transfer provider to: (1) clearly and conspicuously make specified disclosures in writing and in a form that the consumer may keep to each consumer requesting a remittance transfer; and (2) make such disclosures in English and in the same languages principally used by the remittance transfer provider, or its agents at that office, if other than English.
 
Prescribes error resolution guidelines and remedies governing remittance transfer errors.
 
Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to publish electronically on each business day the foreign currencies dollar exchange rate.
 
Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to empower Federal Credit Unions to: (1) provide remittance transfers to persons in the field of membership; and (2) cash checks and money orders for such persons for a fee. 
 
Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to work with the Federal reserve banks to expand the use of the automated clearinghouse system for remittance transfers to foreign countries.
 
Requires certain Federal banking agencies to provide guidelines to financial institutions offering low-cost remittance transfers and no-cost or low-cost basic consumer accounts, as well as agency services to remittance transfer providers.
 
Requires such agencies and the Secretary to assist the Financial Literacy and Education Commission in improving the financial literacy and education of consumers who send remittances.
 
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, acting through the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to provide assistance to leverage personal remittances and reduce the cost of remittances sent to Latin America and the Caribbean.
 
Amends the Inter-American Development Bank Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank to use the U.S. voice, vote, and influence to urge the Bank, among other specified things, to provide assistance to increasing access to financial institutions for the poor and working with local financial institutions to reduce fees and other costs associated with sending or receiving remittances.
 
Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on the remittance transfer system.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-11-03
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Introduced in House