HR 1176 IH

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect consumers from the adverse consequences of incomplete and inaccurate consumer credit reports, and for other purposes.

March 22, 2001

Mr. FORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect consumers from the adverse consequences of incomplete and inaccurate consumer credit reports, 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 Credit Reporting Act Amendments of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FREE CREDIT REPORT ANNUALLY UPON REQUEST OF CONSUMER.

(a) Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:

`(c) FREE CREDIT REPORT ANNUALLY UPON REQUEST OF CONSUMER- Upon the request of any consumer, each consumer reporting agency shall make all disclosures pursuant to section 609 without charge to such consumer at least once each calendar year.'.

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 612(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(1)) is amended by striking `(c), and (d)' and inserting `(c), (d), and (e)'.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF WORLD WIDE WEB SITE.

Section 609(c)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681(c)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting `and information sufficient to allow the consumer to contact the agency, or request a consumer report relating to the consumer from the agency, through the Internet or the World Wide Web' before the period at the end.

SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES AND EXPLANATION OF CREDIT SCORES.

Section 609(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

`(1) All information in the consumer's file at the time of the request, including any information concerning credit scores or any other risk scores or predictors relating to the consumer, together with--

`(A) a clear and concise summary of how the scores and predictors are derived;

`(B) the factors taken into account in deriving a score or predictor;

`(C) how such factors are applied to the consumer;

`(D) the relative weight given to each factor; and

`(E) the manner and extent to which such factors raise or lower the score or predictor.'

SEC. 5. SHORTER PERIOD FOR INCLUSION OF SMALL DEBTS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), any account placed for collection or charged to profit and loss in which the amount placed to collection or charged to profit and loss did not exceed $100 and which antedates the report by more than 3 years, if--

`(A) the consumer to whom the report relates completed a credit and financial management class during such 3-year period; and

`(B) the consumer has not previously had an account excluded from paragraph (4) by virtue of this paragraph.'.

SEC. 6. PROMPT INVESTIGATION AND CORRECTION OR DELETION OF INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE, OR UNVERIFIABLE CONSUMER INFORMATION.

(A) REVIEW AND MONITORING REQUIRED- The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission shall each review and monitor the extent to which, and the manner in which, consumer reporting agencies and furnishers of consumer information to consumer reporting agencies are complying with the procedures, time lines, and requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the prompt investigation of the disputed accuracy of any consumer information and the prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with such Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or information that cannot be verified.

(b) REPORT REQUIRED- Before the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission shall each submit a progress report to the Congress on the results of the review required under subsection (a).

(c) RECOMMENDATIONS- The report under subsection (b) shall include such recommendations as the Board and the Commission determine to be appropriate for legislative or administrative action to ensure that--

(1) consumer disputes with consumer reporting agencies over the accuracy or completeness of information in a consumer's file are promptly and fully investigated and any incorrect, incomplete, or unverifiable information is immediately corrected or deleted;

(2) furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies maintain full and prompt compliance with the duties and responsibilities established under section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and

(3) consumer reporting agencies establish and maintain appropriate internal controls and management review procedures for maintaining full and continuous compliance with the procedures, time lines, and requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the prompt investigation of the disputed accuracy of any consumer information and the prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with such Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or information that cannot be verified.

(d) DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section, the terms `consumer', `consumer report', and `consumer reporting agency' have the same meaning as in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendments made by this Act shall take effect at the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

END