[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 68 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 68

 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide for disclosures by 
consumer reporting agencies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 
                     counterintelligence purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

  Mr. Bereuter (for himself and Mr. Combest) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide for disclosures by 
consumer reporting agencies to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 
                     counterintelligence 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 ``FBI Counterintelligence Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION AND CONSUMER REPORTS TO FBI FOR 
              COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 
seq.) is amended by adding after section 623 the following new section:
``Sec. 624. Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes
    ``(a) Identity of Financial Institutions.--Notwithstanding section 
604 or any other provision of this title, a consumer reporting agency 
shall furnish to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the names and 
addresses of all financial institutions (as that term is defined in 
section 1101 of the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978) at which a 
consumer maintains or has maintained an account, to the extent that 
information is in the files of the agency, when presented with a 
written request for that information, signed by the Director of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Director's designee, which 
certifies compliance with this section. The Director or the Director's 
designee may make such a certification only if the Director or the 
Director's designee has determined in writing that--
            ``(1) such information is necessary for the conduct of an 
        authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation; and
            ``(2) there are specific and articulable facts giving 
        reason to believe that the consumer--
                    ``(A) is a foreign power (as defined in section 101 
                of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) 
                or a person who is not a United States person (as 
                defined in such section 101) and is an official of a 
                foreign power; or
                    ``(B) is an agent of a foreign power and is 
                engaging or has engaged in international terrorism (as 
                that term is defined in section 101(c) of the Foreign 
                Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) or clandestine 
                intelligence activities that involve or may involve a 
                violation of criminal statutes of the United States.
    ``(b) Identifying Information.--Notwithstanding the provisions of 
section 604 or any other provision of this title, a consumer reporting 
agency shall furnish identifying information respecting a consumer, 
limited to name, address, former addresses, places of employment, or 
former places of employment, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
when presented with a written request, signed by the Director or the 
Director's designee, which certifies compliance with this subsection. 
The Director or the Director's designee may make such a certification 
only if the Director or the Director's designee has determined in 
writing that--
            ``(1) such information is necessary to the conduct of an 
        authorized counterintelligence investigation; and
            ``(2) there is information giving reason to believe that 
        the consumer has been, or is about to be, in contact with a 
        foreign power or an agent of a foreign power (as defined in 
        section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
        1978).
    ``(c) Court Order for Disclosure of Consumer Reports.--
Notwithstanding section 604 or any other provision of this title, if 
requested in writing by the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, or a designee of the Director, a court may issue an 
order ex parte directing a consumer reporting agency to furnish a 
consumer report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, upon a showing 
in camera that--
            ``(1) the consumer report is necessary for the conduct of 
        an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation; and
            ``(2) there are specific and articulable facts giving 
        reason to believe that the consumer whose consumer report is 
        sought--
                    ``(A) is an agent of a foreign power; and
                    ``(B) is engaging or has engaged in international 
                terrorism (as that term is defined in section 101(c) of 
                the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) or 
                clandestine intelligence activities that involve or may 
                involve a violation of criminal statutes of the United 
                States.
The terms of an order issued under this subsection shall not disclose 
that the order is issued for purposes of a counterintelligence 
investigation.
    ``(d) Confidentiality.--No consumer reporting agency or officer, 
employee, or agent of a consumer reporting agency shall disclose to any 
person, other than those officers, employees, or agents of a consumer 
reporting agency necessary to fulfill the requirement to disclose 
information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation under this section, 
that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained the 
identity of financial institutions or a consumer report respecting any 
consumer under subsection (a), (b), or (c) and no consumer reporting 
agency or officer, employee, or agent of a consumer reporting agency 
shall include in any consumer report any information that would 
indicate that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or 
obtained such information or a consumer report.
    ``(e) Payment of Fees.--The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall, 
subject to the availability of appropriations, pay to the consumer 
reporting agency assembling or providing reports or information in 
accordance with procedures established under this section, a fee for 
reimbursement for such costs as are reasonably necessary and which have 
been directly incurred in searching, reproducing, or transporting 
books, papers, records, or other data required or requested to be 
produced under this section.
    ``(f) Limit on Dissemination.--The Federal Bureau of Investigation 
may not disseminate information obtained pursuant to this section 
outside of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, except to the 
Department of Justice as may be necessary for the approval or conduct 
of a foreign counterintelligence investigation, or, where the 
information concerns a person subject to the Uniform Code of Military 
Justice, to appropriate investigative authorities within the military 
department concerned as may be necessary for the conduct of a joint 
foreign counterintelligence investigation.
    ``(g) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit information from being furnished by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation pursuant to a subpoena or court order, or in 
connection with a judicial or administrative proceeding to enforce the 
provisions of this Act. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
authorize or permit the withholding or information from the Congress.
    ``(h) Reports to Congress.--On a semiannual basis, the Attorney 
General of the United States shall fully inform the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Banking and Financial 
Services of the House of Representatives, and the Select Committee on 
Intelligence and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
of the Senate concerning all requests made pursuant to subsections (a), 
(b), and (c).
    ``(i) Damages.--Any agency or department of the United States 
obtaining or disclosing any consumer reports, records, or information 
contained therein in violation of this section is liable to the 
consumer to whom such consumer reports, records, or information relate 
in an amount equal to the sum of--
            ``(1) $100, without regard to the volume of consumer 
        reports, records, or information involved;
            ``(2) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a 
        result of the disclosure;
            ``(3) if the violation is found to have been willful or 
        intentional, such punitive damages as a court may allow; and
            ``(4) in the case of any successful action to enforce 
        liability under this subsection, the costs of the action, 
        together with reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the 
        court.
    ``(j) Disciplinary Actions for Violations.--If a court determines 
that any agency or department of the United States has violated any 
provision of this section and the court finds that the circumstances 
surrounding the violation raise questions of whether or not an officer 
or employee of the agency or department acted willfully or 
intentionally with respect to the violation, the agency or department 
shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether or not 
disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who 
was responsible for the violation.
    ``(k) Good-Faith Exception.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this title, any consumer reporting agency or agent or employee thereof 
making disclosure of consumer reports or identifying information 
pursuant to this subsection in good-faith reliance upon a certification 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to provisions of this 
section shall not be liable to any person for such disclosure under 
this title, the constitution of any State, or any law or regulation of 
any State or any political subdivision of any State.
    ``(l) Limitation of Remedies.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of this title, the remedies and sanctions set forth in this section 
shall be the only judicial remedies and sanctions for violation of this 
section.
    ``(m) Injunctive Relief.--In addition to any other remedy contained 
in this section, injunctive relief shall be available to require 
compliance with the procedures of this section. In the event of any 
successful action under this subsection, costs together with reasonable 
attorney fees, as determined by the court, may be recovered.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a et seq.) is amended by 
adding after the item relating to section 623 the following:

``624. Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes.''.
    (c) Repeal of Provisions.--
            (1) Repeal.--The following provisions of the Fair Credit 
        Reporting Act, as added by this section, are repealed:
                    (A) Section 624.
                    (B) In the table of contents at the beginning of 
                the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the item relating to 
                section 624.
            (2) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on the 
        date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION OF SECTION 2 AND REPEAL OF ANY 
              AMENDMENT MADE.

    Section 2 shall not have any legal effect after the date of the 
enactment of the Consumer Reporting Reform Act of 1994. Any provisions 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act that were added to that Act by the 
amendments made by section 3 of this Act are repealed effective on the 
date of the enactment of the Consumer Reporting Reform Act of 1994.
    Section 3 is only necessary to deal with any concurrent enactment 
of similar provision in another bill, as was potentially the case in 
the 103d Congress with the comprehensive amendments that would have 
been made to FCRA by the Consumer Report Reform Act of 1994.
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