[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3175 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3175

  To prohibit creditors from imposing late fees, increasing interest 
  rates, or submitting adverse credit information with regard to the 
 account of a consumer whose mail service has been disrupted due to a 
 biological, chemical, or radiological attack, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 29, 2001

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit creditors from imposing late fees, increasing interest 
  rates, or submitting adverse credit information with regard to the 
 account of a consumer whose mail service has been disrupted due to a 
 biological, chemical, or radiological attack, 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 ``Late Fee Emergency Relief Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. TRUTH IN LENDING ACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
1631 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 129 the following 
new section:
``Sec. 129A. Requirements in the case of a biological, chemical, or 
              radiological attack-related mail disruption
    ``(a) In General.--In the case of any consumer whose principal 
residence is located in a postal zip code for which a designation is in 
effect under subsection (b), any obligation of such consumer on a 
consumer credit transaction shall be subject to the following 
limitations during the effective period of such designation:
            ``(1) If any late fee may otherwise be imposed by any 
        creditor of the consumer during such effective period due to 
        nonreceipt by the creditor of a payment before the date by 
        which or the end of the period within which, a payment by the 
        consumer is required to be made, such late fee shall be waived 
        unless payment is not received by the date or the end of the 
        period determined in accordance with paragraph (4).
            ``(2) No increase may be made in the annual percentage rate 
        applicable to any outstanding balance with respect to such 
        credit transaction, other than an increase in the annual 
        percentage rate due to a change in an index or rate of 
        interest--
                    ``(A) on which such annual percentage rate is 
                based;
                    ``(B) which is publicly available; and
                    ``(C) which is not under the control of the 
                creditor.
            ``(3) No payment information that is adverse to the 
        interest of the consumer or would adversely affect the 
        consumer's credit rating or credit standing may be submitted by 
        a creditor to a consumer reporting agency.
            ``(4) If the date by which or the end of the period within 
        which, a payment must be made in connection with the consumer 
        credit transaction under the terms of the agreement falls 
        within the effective period of the designation, such date or 
        period shall be extended for an additional 30 days.
    ``(b) Designation as a Biological, Chemical, or Radiological 
Attack-Related Mail Disruption Area.--
            ``(1) Designation required.--If the collection, 
        transmission, or distribution of any mail by the United States 
        Postal Service is disrupted due, in whole or in part, to a 
        biological, chemical, or radiological attack, the Postmaster 
        General shall promptly designate the postal zip code in which 
        such disruption occurs for purposes of subsection (a) effective 
        for a 30-day period beginning on the date the disruption first 
        occcured.
            ``(2) Extension of period.--If the Postmaster General 
        determines that mail service in any postal zip code designated 
        under paragraph (1) has not been fully restored at least 7 days 
        before the end of the period referred to in such paragraph, 
        such designation shall continue in effect until the end of the 
        7-day period beginning on the date the Postmaster General 
        determines that such mail service has been fully restored.
            ``(3) Publication of designations.--Before the end of the 
        30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of the 
        Late Fee Emergency Relief Act of 2001 and each 30 days 
        thereafter, the Postmaster General shall--
                    ``(A) compile a list of all the postal zip codes 
                for which a designation is in effect under paragraph 
                (1) as of the date of publication and the date each 
                such designation became effective;
                    ``(B) immediately transmit such list to the Board 
                of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal 
                Trade Commission, and each other agency referred to in 
                section 108(a); and
                    ``(C) publish such list in the Federal Register.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 2 of the 
Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 129 the following new item:

``129A. Requirements in the case of a biological, chemical, or 
                            radiological attack-related mail 
                            disruption.''.
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