[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1753 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 312
108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1753

                          [Report No. 108-166]

  To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act in order to prevent identity 
 theft, to improve the use of and consumer access to consumer reports, 
 to enhance the accuracy of consumer reports, to limit the sharing of 
   certain consumer information, to improve financial education and 
                   literacy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 17, 2003

Mr. Shelby, from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
 reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed 
                            on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act in order to prevent identity 
 theft, to improve the use of and consumer access to consumer reports, 
 to enhance the accuracy of consumer reports, to limit the sharing of 
   certain consumer information, to improve financial education and 
                   literacy, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Consumer 
Credit Reporting System Improvement Act of 2003''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
   TITLE I--IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION AND CREDIT HISTORY RESTORATION

                 Subtitle A--Identity Theft Prevention

Sec. 111. Definitions.
Sec. 112. Fraud alerts and active duty alerts.
Sec. 113. Truncation of credit card and debit card account numbers.
Sec. 114. Establishment of procedures for the identification of 
                            possible instances of identity theft.
Sec. 115. Amendments to existing identity theft prohibition.
Subtitle B--Protection and Restoration of Identity Theft Victim Credit 
                                History

Sec. 151. Summary of rights of identity theft victims.
Sec. 152. Blocking of information resulting from identity theft.
Sec. 153. Coordination of identity theft complaint investigations.
Sec. 154. Prevention of repollution of consumer reports.
Sec. 155. Notice by debt collectors with respect to fraudulent 
                            information.
Sec. 156. Statute of limitations.
    TITLE II--IMPROVEMENTS IN USE OF AND CONSUMER ACCESS TO CREDIT 
                              INFORMATION

Sec. 211. Free credit reports.
Sec. 212. Credit scores.
Sec. 213. Enhanced disclosure of the means available to opt out of 
                            prescreened lists.
Sec. 214. Affiliate sharing.
Sec. 215. Study of effects of credit scores and credit-based insurance 
                            scores on availability and affordability of 
                            financial products.
    TITLE III--ENHANCING THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION

Sec. 311. Notice with respect to counter offers.
Sec. 312. Procedures to enhance the accuracy and completeness of 
                            information furnished to consumer reporting 
                            agencies.
Sec. 313. Federal Trade Commission and consumer reporting agency action 
                            concerning complaints.
Sec. 314. Ongoing audits of the accuracy of consumer reports.
Sec. 315. Improved disclosure of the results of reinvestigation.
Sec. 316. Reconciling addresses.
Sec. 317. FTC study of issues relating to the Fair Credit Reporting 
                            Act.
 TITLE IV--LIMITING THE USE AND SHARING OF MEDICAL INFORMATION IN THE 
                            FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Sec. 411. Protection of medical information in the financial system.
Sec. 412. Confidentiality of medical contact information in consumer 
                            reports.
         TITLE V--FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT

Sec. 511. Short title.
Sec. 512. Definitions.
Sec. 513. Establishment of Financial Literacy and Education Commission.
Sec. 514. Duties of the Commission.
Sec. 515. Powers of the Commission.
Sec. 516. Commission personnel matters.
Sec. 517. Study by the Comptroller General.
Sec. 518. Authorization of appropriations.
                    TITLE VI--RELATION TO STATE LAW

Sec. 611. Relation to State law.
                        TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 711. Clerical amendments.

   TITLE I--IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION AND CREDIT HISTORY RESTORATION

                 Subtitle A--Identity Theft Prevention

SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(q) Definitions Relating to Fraud Alerts.--
            ``(1) Active duty military consumer.--The term `active duty 
        military consumer' means a consumer in military service who--
                    ``(A) is on active duty (as defined in section 
                101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code) or is a 
                reservist performing duty under a call or order to 
                active duty under a provision of law referred to in 
                section 101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code; and
                    ``(B) is assigned to service away from the usual 
                duty station of the consumer.
            ``(2) Fraud alert; active duty alert.--The terms `fraud 
        alert' and `active duty alert' mean a statement in the file of 
        a consumer that--
                    ``(A) notifies all prospective users of a consumer 
                report relating to the consumer that the consumer may 
                be a victim of fraud, including identity theft, or is 
                an active duty military consumer, as applicable;
                    ``(B) provides to all prospective users of a 
                consumer report relating to the consumer, a telephone 
                number or other reasonable contact method designated by 
                the consumer for the user to obtain authorization from 
                the consumer before establishing new credit (including 
                providing any increase in a credit limit with respect 
                to an existing credit account) in the name of the 
                consumer; and
                    ``(C) is presented in a manner that facilitates a 
                clear and conspicuous view of the statement by any 
                person requesting such file, or any portion thereof.
    ``(r) Credit Card.--The term `credit card' has the same meaning as 
in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act.
    ``(s) Debit Card.--The term `debit card' means any card issued by a 
financial institution to a consumer for use in initiating an electronic 
fund transfer from the account of the consumer at such financial 
institution, for the purpose of transferring money between accounts or 
obtaining money, property, labor, or services.
    ``(t) Account and Electronic Fund Transfer.--The terms `account' 
and `electronic fund transfer' have the same meanings as in section 903 
of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
    ``(u) Creditor--The terms `credit' and `creditor' have the same 
meanings as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act.
    ``(v) Federal Banking Agencies.--The term `Federal banking 
agencies' has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Act.
    ``(w) Financial Institution.--The term `financial institution' 
means a State or National bank, a State or Federal savings and loan 
association, a mutual savings bank, a State or Federal credit union, or 
any other person that, directly or indirectly, holds an account 
belonging to a consumer.
    ``(x) Reseller.--The term `reseller' means a consumer reporting 
agency that--
            ``(1) assembles and merges information contained in the 
        database of another consumer reporting agency or multiple 
        consumer reporting agencies concerning any consumer for 
        purposes of furnishing such information to any third party, to 
        the extent of such activities; and
            ``(2) does not maintain a database of the assembled or 
        merged information from which new consumer reports are 
        produced.
    ``(y) Definitions Relating to Credit Scores.--
            ``(1) Credit score and key factors.--When used in 
        connection with an application for an extension of credit for a 
        consumer purpose that is to be secured by a dwelling--
                    ``(A) the term `credit score'--
                            ``(i) means a numerical value or 
                        categorization derived from a statistical tool 
                        or modeling system used to predict the 
                        likelihood of certain credit behaviors, 
                        including default; and
                            ``(ii) does not include--
                                    ``(I) any mortgage score or rating 
                                of an automated underwriting system 
                                that considers 1 or more factors in 
                                addition to credit information, 
                                including the loan-to-value ratio, the 
                                amount of down payment, or the 
                                financial assets of a consumer; or
                                    ``(II) other elements of the 
                                underwriting process or underwriting 
                                decision; and
                    ``(B) the term `key factors' means all relevant 
                elements or reasons affecting the credit score for a 
                consumer, listed in the order of their importance, 
                based on their respective effects on the credit score.
            ``(2) Dwelling.--The term `dwelling' has the same meaning 
        as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act.
    ``(z) Identity Theft Report.--The term `identity theft report' 
means a report--
            ``(1) that alleges an identity theft;
            ``(2) that is filed by a consumer with an appropriate 
        Federal, State, or local government agency, including the 
        United States Postal Inspection Service and any law enforcement 
        agency; and
            ``(3) the filing of which subjects the person filing the 
        report to criminal penalties relating to the filing of false 
        information if, in fact, the information in the report is 
        false.''.

SEC. 112. FRAUD ALERTS AND ACTIVE DUTY ALERTS.

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 605 the following:
``Sec. 605A. Identity theft prevention; fraud alerts and active duty 
              alerts
    ``(a) One-Call Fraud Alerts.--
            ``(1) Initial alerts.--Upon the request of a consumer who 
        asserts in good faith a suspicion that the consumer has been or 
        is about to become a victim of fraud or related crime, 
        including identity theft, a consumer reporting agency described 
        in section 603(p) that maintains a file on the consumer and has 
        received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester 
        shall--
                            ``(A) include a fraud alert in the file of 
                        that consumer for a period of not less than 90 
                        days, beginning on the date of such request, 
                        unless the consumer requests that such fraud 
                        alert be removed before the end of such period, 
                        and the agency has received appropriate proof 
                        of the identity of the requester for such 
                        purpose; and
                            ``(B) refer the information regarding the 
                        fraud alert under this paragraph to each of the 
                        other consumer reporting agencies described in 
                        section 603(p), in accordance with procedures 
                        developed under section 621(f).
            ``(2) Access to free reports.--In any case in which a 
        consumer reporting agency includes a fraud alert in the file of 
        a consumer pursuant to this subsection, the consumer reporting 
        agency shall--
                    ``(A) disclose to the consumer that the consumer 
                may request a free copy of the file of the consumer 
                pursuant to section 612(d); and
                    ``(B) provide to the consumer all disclosures 
                required to be made under section 609, without charge 
                to the consumer, not later than 3 business days after 
                any request described in subparagraph (A).
    ``(b) Extended Alerts.--
            ``(1) In general.--Upon the request of a consumer who 
        submits an identity theft report to a consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p) that maintains a file on the 
        consumer, if the agency has received appropriate proof of the 
        identity of the requester, the agency shall--
                    ``(A) include a fraud alert in the file of that 
                consumer during the 7-year period beginning on the date 
                of such request, unless the consumer requests that such 
                fraud alert be removed before the end of such period 
                and the agency has received appropriate proof of the 
                identity of the requester for such purpose;
                    ``(B) during the 7-year period beginning on the 
                date of such request, exclude the consumer from any 
                list of consumers prepared by the consumer reporting 
                agency and provided to any third party to offer credit 
                or insurance to the consumer as part of a transaction 
                that was not initiated by the consumer, unless the 
                consumer requests that such exclusion be rescinded 
                before the end of such period; and
                    ``(C) refer the information regarding the extended 
                fraud alert under this paragraph to each of the other 
                consumer reporting agencies described in section 
603(p), in accordance with procedures developed under section 621(f).
            ``(2) Verification of identity theft claim.--For purposes 
        of paragraph (1), a consumer reporting agency shall accept as 
        proof of a claim of identity theft, in lieu of an identity 
        theft report--
                    ``(A) a properly completed copy of a standardized 
                affidavit of identity theft developed and made 
                available by the Federal Trade Commission; or
                    ``(B) any affidavit of fact that is acceptable to 
                the consumer reporting agency for that purpose.
            ``(3) Access to free reports.--In any case in which a 
        consumer reporting agency includes a fraud alert in the file of 
        a consumer pursuant to this subsection, the consumer reporting 
        agency shall--
                    ``(A) disclose to the consumer that the consumer 
                may request 2 free copies of the file of the consumer 
                pursuant to section 612(d) during the 12-month period 
                beginning on the date on which the fraud alert was 
                included in the file; and
                    ``(B) provide to the consumer all disclosures 
                required to be made under section 609, without charge 
                to the consumer, not later than 3 business days after 
                any request described in subparagraph (A).
    ``(c) Active Duty Alerts.--Upon the request of an active duty 
military consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in section 
603(p) that maintains a file on the active duty military consumer and 
has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall--
            ``(1) include an active duty alert in the file of that 
        active duty military consumer during a period of not less than 
        12 months, beginning on the date of the request, unless the 
        active duty military consumer requests that such fraud alert be 
        removed before the end of such period, and the agency has 
        received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester for 
        such purpose;
            ``(2) during the 12-month period beginning on the date of 
        such request, exclude the active duty military consumer from 
        any list of consumers prepared by the consumer reporting agency 
        and provided to any third party to offer credit or insurance to 
        the consumer as part of a transaction that was not initiated by 
        the consumer, unless the consumer requests that such exclusion 
        be rescinded before the end of such period; and
            ``(3) refer the information regarding the active duty alert 
        to each of the other consumer reporting agencies described in 
        section 603(p), in accordance with procedures developed under 
        section 621(f).
    ``(d) Procedures.--Each consumer reporting agency described in 
section 603(p) shall establish policies and procedures to comply with 
this section, including procedures that allow consumers and active duty 
military consumers to request temporary, extended, or active duty 
alerts (as applicable) in a simple and easy manner, including by 
telephone.
    ``(e) Referrals of Fraud Alerts.--Each consumer reporting agency 
described in section 603(p) that receives a referral of a fraud alert 
or active duty alert from another consumer reporting agency pursuant to 
this section shall, as though the agency received the request from the 
consumer directly, follow the procedures required under--
            ``(1) paragraphs (1)(A) and (2) of subsection (a), in the 
        case of a referral under subsection (a)(1)(B);
            ``(2) paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(B), and (3) of subsection (b), 
        in the case of a referral under subsection (b)(1)(C); and
            ``(3) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c), in the case 
        of a referral under subsection (c)(3).
    ``(f) Duty of Reseller To Reconvey Alert.--A reseller shall include 
in its report any fraud alert or active duty alert placed in the file 
of a consumer pursuant to this section by another consumer reporting 
agency.
    ``(g) Duty of Other Consumer Reporting Agencies To Provide Contact 
Information.--If a consumer contacts any consumer reporting agency that 
is not described in section 603(p) to communicate a suspicion that the 
consumer has been or is about to become a victim of fraud or related 
crime, including identity theft, the agency shall provide information 
to the consumer on how to contact the Commission and the consumer 
reporting agencies described in section 603(p) to obtain more detailed 
information and request alerts under this section.''.

SEC. 113. TRUNCATION OF CREDIT CARD AND DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT NUMBERS.

    Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Truncation of Credit Card and Debit Card Numbers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise specifically 
        provided in this subsection, no person that accepts credit 
        cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall 
        print more than the last 5 digits of the card account number or 
        the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder 
        at the point of the sale or transaction.
            ``(2) Limitation.--This subsection applies only to receipts 
        that are electronically printed, and does not apply to 
        transactions in which the sole means of recording a credit card 
        or debit card account number is by handwriting or by an imprint 
        or copy of the card.
            ``(3) Effective date.--This subsection shall become 
        effective--
                    ``(A) 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
                subsection, with respect to any cash register or other 
                machine or device that electronically prints receipts 
                for credit card or debit card transactions that is in 
                use before January 1, 2005; and
                    ``(B) 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
                subsection, with respect to any cash register or other 
                machine or device that electronically prints receipts 
                for credit card or debit card transactions that is 
                first put into use on or after January 1, 2005.''.

SEC. 114. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF 
              POSSIBLE INSTANCES OF IDENTITY THEFT.

    (a) In General.--Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681m) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(e)'' at the end; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Red Flag Guidelines and Regulations Required.--
            ``(1) Guidelines.--The Federal banking agencies, the 
        National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Trade 
        Commission shall, with respect to the entities that are subject 
        to their respective enforcement authority under section 621, 
        and in coordination as described in paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) establish and maintain guidelines for use by 
                each financial institution and each other person that 
                is a creditor or other user of a consumer report 
                regarding identity theft with respect to account 
                holders at, or customers of, such entities, and update 
                such guidelines as often as necessary; and
                    ``(B) prescribe regulations requiring each 
                financial institution and each other person that is a 
                creditor or other user of a consumer report to 
                establish reasonable policies and procedures for 
                implementing the guidelines established pursuant to 
                paragraph (1), to identify possible risks to account 
                holders or to the safety and soundness of the 
                institution or customers.
            ``(2) Coordination.--Each agency required to prescribe 
        regulations under paragraph (1) shall consult and coordinate 
        with each other such agency so that, to the extent possible, 
        the regulations prescribed by each such entity are consistent 
        and comparable with the regulations prescribed by each other 
        such agency.
            ``(3) Criteria.--In developing the guidelines required by 
        paragraph (1)(A), the agencies described in paragraph (1) shall 
        identify patterns, practices, and specific forms of activity 
        that indicate the possible existence of identity theft.
            ``(4) Consistency with verification requirements.--Policies 
        and procedures established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not 
        be inconsistent with, or duplicative of, the policies and 
        procedures required under section 5318(l) of title 31, United 
        States Code.
    ``(f) Investigation of Changes of Address.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal banking agencies, the 
        National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Trade 
        Commission, in carrying out the responsibilities of such 
        agencies under subsection (e) shall, with respect to the 
        entities that are subject to their respective enforcement 
        authority under section 621, and in coordination as described 
        in paragraph (2), prescribe regulations applicable to card 
        issuers to ensure that, if any such card issuer receives a 
        request for an additional or replacement card for an existing 
        account not later than 30 days after the card issuer has 
        received notification of a change of address for the same 
        account, the card issuer will follow reasonable policies and 
        procedures that prohibit, as appropriate, the card issuer from 
        issuing the additional or replacement card, unless the card 
        issuer--
                    ``(A) notifies the cardholder of the request at the 
                former address of the cardholder and provides to the 
                cardholder a means of promptly reporting incorrect 
                address changes;
                    ``(B) notifies the cardholder of the request by 
                such other means of communication as the cardholder and 
                the card issuer previously agreed to; or
                    ``(C) uses other means of assessing the validity of 
                the change of address, in accordance with reasonable 
                policies and procedures established by the card issuer 
                in accordance with the regulations prescribed under 
                subsection (e).
            ``(2) Coordination.--Each agency required to prescribe 
        regulations under paragraph (1) shall consult and coordinate 
        with each other such agency so that, to the extent possible, 
        the regulations prescribed by each such entity are consistent 
        and comparable with the regulations prescribed by each other 
        such agency.
            ``(3) Definition of card issuer.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term `card issuer' means--
                    ``(A) any person who issues a credit card, or the 
                agent of such person with respect to such card; and
                    ``(B) any person who issues a debit card.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 115. AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING IDENTITY THEFT PROHIBITION.

    Section 1028 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(7)--
                    (A) by striking ``transfers'' and inserting 
                ``transfers, possesses,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``abet,'' and inserting ``abet, or 
                in connection with,'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(D), by striking ``transfer'' and 
        inserting ``transfer, possession,''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``three years'' and 
        inserting ``5 years''.

Subtitle B--Protection and Restoration of Identity Theft Victim Credit 
                                History

SEC. 151. SUMMARY OF RIGHTS OF IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Summary of Rights of Identity Theft Victims.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission, in 
        consultation with the Federal banking agencies and the National 
        Credit Union Administration, shall prepare a model summary of 
        the rights of consumers under this title with respect to the 
        procedures for remedying the effects of fraud or identity theft 
        involving credit, electronic fund transfers, or accounts or 
transactions at or with a financial institution.
            ``(2) Summary of rights and contact information.--If any 
        consumer contacts a consumer reporting agency and expresses a 
        belief that the consumer is a victim of fraud or identity theft 
        involving credit, an electronic fund transfer, or an account or 
        transaction at or with a financial institution, the consumer 
        reporting agency shall, in addition to any other action that 
        the agency may take, provide the consumer with the model 
        summary of rights prepared by the Commission under paragraph 
        (1) and information on how to contact the Commission to obtain 
        more detailed information.''.
    (b) Public Campaign To Prevent Identity Theft.--Not later than 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade 
Commission shall establish and implement a media and distribution 
campaign to teach the public how to prevent identity theft. Such 
campaign shall include existing Federal Trade Commission education 
materials, as well as radio, television, and print public service 
announcements, video cassettes, interactive digital video discs (DVD's) 
or compact audio discs (CD's), and Internet resources.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 624(b)(3) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(3), regarding relation to State laws) 
is amended by striking ``section 609(c)'' and inserting ``subsection 
(c) or (d) of section 609''.

SEC. 152. BLOCKING OF INFORMATION RESULTING FROM IDENTITY THEFT.

    (a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 605A, as added by this Act, 
the following:
``Sec. 605B. Block of information resulting from identity theft
    ``(a) Block.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, a 
consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information 
in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information 
that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 3 business 
days after the date of receipt by such agency of--
            ``(1) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer;
            ``(2) a copy of an identity theft report; and
            ``(3) the identification of such information by the 
        consumer.
    ``(b) Notification.--A consumer reporting agency shall promptly 
notify the furnisher of information identified by the consumer under 
subsection (a)--
            ``(1) that the information may be a result of identity 
        theft;
            ``(2) that an identity theft report has been filed;
            ``(3) that a block has been requested under this section; 
        and
            ``(4) of the effective dates of the block.
    ``(c) Authority To Decline or Rescind.--
            ``(1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency may decline 
        to block, or may rescind any block, of information relating to 
        a consumer under this section, if the consumer reporting agency 
        reasonably determines that--
                    ``(A) the information was blocked in error or a 
                block was requested by the consumer in error;
                    ``(B) the information was blocked, or a block was 
                requested by the consumer, on the basis of a material 
                misrepresentation of fact relevant to the request to 
                block; or
                    ``(C) the consumer obtained possession of goods, 
                services, or money as a result of the blocked 
                transaction or transactions.
            ``(2) Notification to consumer.--If a block of information 
        is declined or rescinded under this subsection, the affected 
        consumer shall be notified promptly, in the same manner as 
        consumers are notified of the reinsertion of information under 
        section 611(a)(5)(B).
            ``(3) Significance of block.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, if a consumer reporting agency rescinds a block, 
        the presence of information in the file of a consumer prior to 
        the blocking of such information is not evidence of whether the 
        consumer knew or should have known that the consumer obtained 
        possession of any goods, services, or money as a result of the 
        block.
    ``(d) Exception for Resellers.--
            ``(1) No reseller file.--This section shall not apply to a 
        consumer reporting agency, if the consumer reporting agency--
                    ``(A) is a reseller;
                    ``(B) is not, at the time of the request of the 
                consumer under subsection (a), otherwise furnishing or 
                reselling a consumer report concerning the information 
                identified by the consumer; and
                    ``(C) informs the consumer, by any means, that the 
                consumer may report the identity theft to the 
                Commission to obtain consumer information regarding 
                identity theft.
            ``(2) Reseller with file.--The sole obligation of the 
        consumer reporting agency under this section, with regard to 
        any request of a consumer under this section, shall be to block 
        the consumer report maintained by the consumer reporting agency 
        from any subsequent use, if--
                    ``(A) the consumer, in accordance with the 
                provisions of subsection (a), identifies, to a consumer 
                reporting agency, information in the file of the 
                consumer that resulted from identity theft; and
                    ``(B) the consumer reporting agency is a reseller 
                of the identified information.
            ``(3) Notice.--In carrying out its obligation under 
        paragraph (2), the reseller shall promptly provide a notice to 
        the consumer of the decision to block the file. Such notice 
        shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of each 
        consumer reporting agency from which the consumer information 
        was obtained for resale.
    ``(e) Exception for Verification Companies.--The provisions of this 
section do not apply to a check services company, acting as such, which 
issues authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing 
negotiable instruments, electronic fund transfers, or similar methods 
of payments, except that, beginning 3 business days after receipt of 
information described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a), 
a check services company shall not report to a national consumer 
reporting agency described in section 603(p), any information 
identified in the subject identity theft report as resulting from 
identity theft.
    ``(f) Access to Blocked Information By Law Enforcement Agencies.--
No provision of this section shall be construed as requiring a consumer 
reporting agency to prevent a Federal, State, or local law enforcement 
agency from accessing blocked information in a consumer file to which 
the agency could otherwise obtain access under this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 605 the following new items:

``605A. Identity theft prevention; fraud alerts and active duty alerts.
``605B. Block of information resulting from identity theft.''.

SEC. 153. COORDINATION OF IDENTITY THEFT COMPLAINT INVESTIGATIONS.

    Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Coordination of Consumer Complaint Investigations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each consumer reporting agency described 
        in section 603(p) shall develop and maintain procedures for the 
        referral to each other such agency of any consumer complaint 
        received by the agency alleging identity theft, or requesting a 
        fraud alert under section 605A or a block under section 605B.
            ``(2) Model form and procedure for reporting identity 
        theft.--The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the 
        Federal banking agencies and the National Credit Union 
        Administration, shall develop a model form and model procedures 
        to be used by consumers who are victims of identity theft for 
        contacting and informing creditors and consumer reporting 
        agencies of the fraud.
            ``(3) Annual summary reports.--Each consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p) shall submit an annual 
        summary report to the Commission on consumer complaints 
        received by the agency on identity theft or fraud alerts.''.

SEC. 154. PREVENTION OF REPOLLUTION OF CONSUMER REPORTS.

    (a) Prevention of Reinsertion of Erroneous Information.--
            (1) Duties of furnishers upon notice of identity theft-
        related disputes.--Section 623(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3);
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Duties of furnishers upon notice of identity theft-
        related disputes.--A person that furnishes information to any 
        consumer reporting agency shall--
                    ``(A) have in place reasonable procedures to 
                respond to any notification from a consumer reporting 
                agency under section 605B relating to information 
                resulting from identity theft, to prevent that person 
                from refurnishing such information; and
                    ``(B) take the actions described in subparagraphs 
                (A) through (D) of paragraph (1), if such person 
                receives directly from a consumer, an identity theft 
                report or a properly completed copy of a standardized 
                affidavit of identity theft developed and made 
                available by the Federal Trade Commission.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by striking 
                ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``this subsection''.
            (2) Conforming amendments relating to notice of identity 
        theft directly from consumers.--Section 623(b)(1) of the Fair 
        Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                inserting ``or as described in paragraph (2)(B),'' 
                after ``agency,'';
                    (B) subparagraph (B), by inserting before the 
                semicolon the following: ``, and by the consumer, and 
                other documentation reasonably available to the person 
                that is necessary to conduct a reasonable 
                investigation''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting before the 
                semicolon at the end the following:
                ``, and to the consumer, if notice of the dispute was 
                received directly from the consumer, as described in 
                paragraph (2)(B)''.
    (b) Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Debt Caused by Identity 
Theft.--Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m), 
as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Debt Caused by Identity 
Theft.--
            ``(1) In general.--No person shall sell, transfer for 
        consideration, or place for collection a debt that such person 
        has been notified under section 605B has resulted from identity 
        theft.
            ``(2) Applicability.--The prohibitions of this subsection 
        shall apply to all persons collecting a debt described in 
        paragraph (1) after the date of a notification under paragraph 
        (1).
            ``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to prohibit--
                    ``(A) the repurchase of a debt in any case in which 
                the assignee of the debt requires such repurchase 
                because the debt has resulted from identity theft;
                    ``(B) the securitization of a debt; or
                    ``(C) the transfer of debt as a result of a merger, 
                acquisition, purchase and assumption transaction, or 
                transfer of substantially all of the assets of an 
                entity.''.

SEC. 155. NOTICE BY DEBT COLLECTORS WITH RESPECT TO FRAUDULENT 
              INFORMATION.

    Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m), as 
amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Debt Collector Communications Concerning Identity Theft.--If 
a person acting as a debt collector (as that term is defined in title 
VIII) on behalf of a third party that is a creditor or other user of a 
consumer report is notified that any information relating to a debt 
that the person is attempting to collect may be fraudulent or may be 
the result of identity theft, that person shall--
            ``(1) notify the third party that the information may be 
        fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft; and
            ``(2) upon request of the consumer to whom the debt 
        purportedly relates, provide to the consumer all information to 
        which the consumer would otherwise be entitled if the consumer 
        were not a victim of identity theft, but wished to dispute the 
        debt under provisions of law applicable to that person.''.

SEC. 156. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

    Section 618 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681p) is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 618. Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions
    ``An action to enforce any liability created under this title may 
be brought in any appropriate United States district court, without 
regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent 
jurisdiction, not later than the earlier of--
            ``(1) 2 years after the date of discovery by the plaintiff 
        of the violation that is the basis for such liability; or
            ``(2) 7 years after the date on which the violation that is 
        the basis for such liability occurs.''.

    TITLE II--IMPROVEMENTS IN USE OF AND CONSUMER ACCESS TO CREDIT 
                              INFORMATION

SEC. 211. FREE CREDIT REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681j) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (a) as subsection (f), and 
        transferring it to the end of the section;
            (2) by inserting before subsection (b) the following:
    ``(a) Free Annual Disclosure.--
            ``(1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency described in 
        section 603(p) shall make all disclosures pursuant to section 
        609 once during any 12-month period upon request of the 
        consumer and without charge to the consumer, only if the 
        request is made by mail or through an Internet website using 
        the centralized system and the standardized form established 
        for such requests in accordance with section 211(c) of the 
        National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act of 
        2003.
            ``(2) Timing.--A consumer reporting agency shall provide a 
        consumer report under paragraph (1) not later than 15 days 
        after the date on which the request is received under paragraph 
        (1).
            ``(3) Reinvestigations.--Notwithstanding the time periods 
        specified in section 611(a)(1), a reinvestigation under that 
        section by a consumer reporting agency upon a request of a 
        consumer that is made after receiving a consumer report under 
        this subsection shall be completed not later than 45 days after 
        the date on which the request is received.'';
            (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (4) by inserting before subsection (e), as redesignated, 
        the following:
    ``(d) Free Disclosures in Connection With Fraud Alerts.--Upon the 
request of a consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in section 
603(p) shall make all disclosures pursuant to section 609 without 
charge to the consumer, as provided in subsections (a)(2) and (b)(3) of 
section 605A, as applicable.'';
            (5) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``subsection (a)'' and inserting ``subsection (f)''; and
            (6) in subsection (f), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d), a'' and 
        inserting ``In the case of a request from a consumer other than 
        a request that is covered by any of subsections (a) through 
        (d), a''.
    (b) Summary of Rights To Obtain and Dispute Information in Consumer 
Reports and To Obtain Credit Scores.--Section 609(c) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Summary of Rights To Obtain and Dispute Information in 
Consumer Reports and To Obtain Credit Scores.--
            ``(1) Commission summary of rights required.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission 
                shall prepare a model summary of the rights of 
                consumers under this title.
                    ``(B) Content of summary.--The summary of rights 
                prepared under subparagraph (A) shall include a 
                description of--
                            ``(i) the right of a consumer to obtain a 
                        copy of a consumer report under subsection (a) 
                        from each consumer reporting agency;
                            ``(ii) the frequency and circumstances 
                        under which a consumer is entitled to receive a 
                        consumer report without charge under section 
                        612;
                            ``(iii) the right of a consumer to dispute 
                        information in the file of the consumer under 
                        section 611;
                            ``(iv) the right of a consumer to obtain a 
                        credit score from a consumer reporting agency, 
                        and a description of how to obtain a credit 
                        score; and
                            ``(v) the method by which a consumer can 
                        contact, and obtain a consumer report from, a 
                        consumer reporting agency without charge, as 
                        provided in the regulations of the Commission 
                        prescribed under section 211(c) of the National 
                        Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement 
                        Act of 2003.
                    ``(C) Availability of summary of rights.--The 
                Federal Trade Commission shall--
                            ``(i) actively publicize the availability 
                        of the summary of rights prepared under this 
                        paragraph;
                            ``(ii) conspicuously post on its Internet 
                        website the availability of such summary of 
                        rights; and
                            ``(iii) promptly make such summary of 
                        rights available to consumers, on request.
            ``(2) Summary of rights required to be included with agency 
        disclosures.--A consumer reporting agency shall provide to a 
        consumer, with each written disclosure by the agency to the 
        consumer under this section--
                    ``(A) the summary of rights prepared by the Federal 
                Trade Commission under paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) in the case of a consumer reporting agency 
                described in section 603(p), a toll-free telephone 
                number established by the agency, at which personnel 
                are accessible to consumers during normal business 
                hours;
                    ``(C) a list of all Federal agencies responsible 
                for enforcing any provision of this title, and the 
                address and any appropriate phone number of each such 
                agency, in a form that will assist the consumer in 
                selecting the appropriate agency;
                    ``(D) a statement that the consumer may have 
                additional rights under State law, and that the 
                consumer may wish to contact a State or local consumer 
                protection agency or a State attorney general (or the 
                equivalent thereof) to learn of those rights; and
                    ``(E) a statement that a consumer reporting agency 
                is not required to remove accurate derogatory 
                information from the file of a consumer, unless the 
                information is outdated under section 605 or cannot be 
                verified.''.
    (c) Rulemaking Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
        prescribe regulations applicable to consumer reporting agencies 
        described in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to 
        require the establishment of--
                    (A) a centralized source, through which consumers 
                may obtain a consumer report from each consumer 
                reporting agency described in that section 603(p) using 
                a single request and without charge to the consumer, as 
                provided in section 612(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
                Act (as amended by this Act);
                    (B) a standardized form for a consumer to make such 
                a request for a consumer report by mail or through an 
                Internet website; and
                    (C) streamlined methods by which such a consumer 
                reporting agency shall provide such consumer reports, 
                after consideration of--
                            (i) the significant demands that may be 
                        placed on consumer reporting agencies in 
                        providing such consumer reports;
                            (ii) appropriate means to ensure that 
                        consumer reporting agencies can satisfactorily 
                        meet those demands, including the efficacy of a 
                        system of staggering the availability to 
                        consumers of such consumer reports using a 
                        quarterly method based on the birth month of 
                        the consumer; and
                            (iii) the ease by which consumers should be 
                        able to contact consumer reporting agencies 
                        with respect to access to such consumer 
                        reports.
            (2) Timing.--Regulations required by this subsection 
        shall--
                    (A) be issued in final form not later than 6 months 
                after the date of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) become effective not later than 6 months after 
                the date on which they are issued in final form.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall become effective on the effective date of the regulations 
prescribed by the Commission in accordance with subsection (c).

SEC. 212. CREDIT SCORES.

    (a) Duties of Consumer Reporting Agencies To Disclose Credit 
Scores.--
            (1) In general.--Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit 
        Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:
            ``(6) In connection with an application for an extension of 
        credit for a consumer purpose that is to be secured by a 
        dwelling--
                    ``(A) the current, or most recent, credit score of 
                the consumer that was previously calculated by the 
                agency;
                    ``(B) the range of possible credit scores under the 
                model used;
                    ``(C) the key factors, if any, not to exceed 4, 
                that adversely affected the credit score of the 
                consumer in the model used;
                    ``(D) the date on which the credit score was 
                created; and
                    ``(E) the name of the person or entity that 
                provided the credit score or the credit file on the 
                basis of which the credit score was created.''.
            (2) Limitations on required provision of credit score.--
        Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g), 
        as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(e) Limitations on Required Provision of Credit Score.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a)(6) may not be construed--
                    ``(A) to compel a consumer reporting agency to 
                develop or disclose a credit score if the agency does 
                not, in the ordinary course of its business--
                            ``(i) distribute scores that are used in 
                        connection with extensions of credit secured by 
                        residential real property; or
                            ``(ii) develop credit scores that assist 
                        creditors in understanding the general credit 
                        behavior of the consumer and predicting future 
                        credit behavior;
                    ``(B) to require a consumer reporting agency that 
                distributes credit scores developed by another person 
                or entity to provide a further explanation of those 
                scores, or to process a dispute arising pursuant to 
                section 611(a), except that the consumer reporting 
                agency shall be required to provide to the consumer the 
                name and information for contacting the person or 
                entity that developed the score;
                    ``(C) to require a consumer reporting agency to 
                maintain credit scores in its files; or
                    ``(D) to compel disclosure of a credit score, 
                except upon specific request of the consumer, except 
                that if a consumer requests the credit file and not the 
                credit score, then the consumer shall be provided with 
                the credit file and a statement that the consumer may 
                request and obtain a credit score.
            ``(2) Provision of scoring model.--In complying with 
        subsection (a)(6) and this subsection, a consumer reporting 
        agency shall supply to the consumer--
                    ``(A) a credit score that is derived from a credit 
                scoring model that is widely distributed to users of 
                credit scores by that consumer reporting agency in 
                connection with any extension of credit secured by a 
                dwelling; or
                    ``(B) a credit score that assists the consumer in 
                understanding the credit scoring assessment of the 
                credit behavior of the consumer and predictions about 
                future credit behavior.''.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--Section 609(a)(1) of the Fair 
        Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) is amended by 
        inserting before the period ``, other than as provided in 
        paragraph (6)''.
    (b) Duties of Users of Credit Scores.--
            (1) In general.--Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m), as amended by this Act, is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Duties of Users of Credit Scores.--
            ``(1) Disclosures.--Any person that makes or arranges 
        extensions of credit for consumer purposes that are to be 
        secured by a dwelling and that uses credit scores for that 
        purpose, shall be required to provide to the consumer to whom 
        the credit score relates, as soon as is reasonably practicable 
        after such use--
                    ``(A) a copy of the information described in 
                section 609(a)(6) that was obtained from a consumer 
                reporting agency or that was developed and used by that 
                user of the credit score information; or
                    ``(B) if the user of the credit score information 
                obtained such information from a third party that 
                developed such information, (other than a consumer 
                reporting agency or the user itself) only--
                            ``(i) a copy of the information described 
                        in section 609(a)(6) provided to the user by 
                        the person or entity that developed the credit 
                        score; and
                            ``(ii) a notice that generally describes 
                        credit scores, their use, and the sources and 
                        kinds of data used to generate credit scores.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--This subsection may not be 
        construed to require the user of a credit score described in 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) to explain to the consumer the information 
                provided pursuant to section 609(a)(6), unless that 
                information was developed by the user;
                    ``(B) to disclose any information other than a 
                credit score or the key factors required to be 
                disclosed under section 609(a)(6)(C);
                    ``(C) to disclose any credit score or related 
                information obtained by the user after a transaction 
                occurs; or
                    ``(D) to provide more than 1 disclosure under this 
                subsection to any 1 consumer per credit transaction.
            ``(3) Limitation.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the obligation of a user of a credit score under 
        this subsection shall be limited solely to providing a copy of 
        the information that was received from the consumer reporting 
        agency or other person. A user of a credit score has no 
        liability under this subsection for the content of credit score 
        information received from a consumer reporting agency or for 
        the omission of any information within the report provided by 
        the consumer reporting agency.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 615 of the Fair Credit 
        Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m) is amended in the section 
        heading, by adding at the end the following: ``and credit 
        scores''.
    (c) Contractual Liability.--Section 616 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Use of Credit Scores.--Any provision of any contract that 
prohibits the disclosure of a credit score by a consumer reporting 
agency or a person who makes or arranges extensions of credit to the 
consumer to whom the credit score relates is void. A user of a credit 
score shall not have liability under any such contractual provision for 
disclosure of a credit score.''.
    (d) Relation to State Laws.--Section 624(b)(1) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1), regarding relation to State laws) 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the end; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) subsections (a)(6) and (e) of section 609, 
                relating to the disclosure of credit scores by consumer 
                reporting agencies in connection with an application 
                for an extension of credit that is to be secured by a 
                dwelling; or
                    ``(H) section 615(i), relating to the duties of 
                users of credit scores to disclose credit score 
                information to consumers in connection with an 
                application for an extension of credit that is to be 
                secured by a dwelling;''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
become effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 213. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF THE MEANS AVAILABLE TO OPT OUT OF 
              PRESCREENED LISTS.

    (a) Notice and Response Format for Users of Reports.--Section 
615(d)(2) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(d)(2)) is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Disclosure of address and telephone number; format.--
        A statement under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) include the address and toll-free telephone 
                number of the appropriate notification system 
                established under section 604(e); and
                    ``(B) be presented in such format and in such type 
                size and manner as is established by the Federal Trade 
                Commission, by rule, in consultation with the Federal 
                banking agencies and the National Credit Union 
                Administration.''.
    (b) Rulemaking Schedule.--Regulations required by section 615(d)(2) 
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by this section, shall be 
issued in final form not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (c) Duration of Elections.--Section 604(e) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(e)) is amended in each of paragraphs 
(3)(A) and (4)(B)(i)), by striking ``2-year period'' each place that 
term appears and inserting ``7-year period''.
    (d) Public Awareness Campaign.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
actively publicize and conspicuously post on its website any address 
and the toll-free telephone number established as part of a 
notification system for opting out of prescreening under section 
604(e), and otherwise take measures to increase public awareness 
regarding the availability of the right to opt out of prescreening.

SEC. 214. AFFILIATE SHARING.

    (a) Limitation.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 624 (regarding relation to 
        State laws), as so designated by section 2413(b) of the 
        Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3009-
        447), as section 625;
            (2) by redesignating section 624 (regarding disclosures to 
        FBI for counterintelligence purposes), as added by section 
        601(a) of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        1996 (Public Law 104-93; 109 Stat. 974) (15 U.S.C. 1681u)), as 
        section 626; and
            (3) by inserting after section 623 the following:

``SEC. 624. AFFILIATE SHARING.

    ``(a) Special Rule for Solicitation for Purposes of Marketing.--
            ``(1) Notice.--Any person that receives from another person 
        related to it by common ownership or affiliated by corporate 
        control a communication of information that would be a consumer 
        report, except for clauses (i) through (iii) of section 
        603(d)(2)(A), may not use the information to make a 
        solicitation for marketing purposes to a consumer about its 
        products or services, unless--
                    ``(A) it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed to 
                the consumer that the information may be communicated 
                among such persons for purposes of making solicitations 
                to the consumer; and
                    ``(B) the consumer is provided an opportunity and a 
                simple method to prohibit the making of such 
                solicitations to the consumer by such person.
            ``(2) Consumer choice.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The notice required under 
                paragraph (1) shall allow the consumer the opportunity 
                to prohibit all solicitation for marketing purposes, 
                and may allow the consumer to choose from different 
                options when electing to prohibit the sending of 
                solicitations, including options regarding the types of 
                entities and information covered, and which methods of 
delivering solicitations the consumer elects to prohibit.
                    ``(B) Format.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
                the notice required under paragraph (1) must be clear, 
                conspicuous, and concise, and any method provided under 
                paragraph (1)(B) must be simple. The regulations 
                prescribed to implement this section shall provide 
                specific guidance regarding how to comply with such 
                standards.
            ``(3) Duration.--The election of the consumer pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(B) to prohibit the sending of solicitations shall 
        be effective for 5 years, beginning on the date on which the 
        person receives the election of the consumer, unless the 
        consumer requests that such election be revoked before the end 
        of such period. At such time as the election of the consumer 
        pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) is no longer effective, a person 
        may not use information it receives as described in paragraph 
        (1) to make a solicitation for marketing purposes to such 
        consumer unless the consumer receives a notice and an 
        opportunity to extend the opt out for another period of 5 
        years, pursuant to the procedure described in paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Scope.--This section shall not apply to a person--
                    ``(A) using information to make a solicitation for 
                marketing purposes to a consumer with whom the person 
                has a pre-existing business relationship;
                    ``(B) using information to perform services on 
                behalf of another person related by common ownership or 
                affiliated by corporate control, except that this 
                subparagraph shall not permit a person to send 
                solicitations on behalf of another person if such other 
                person would not be permitted to send the solicitation 
                on its own behalf as a result of the election of the 
                consumer to prohibit solicitations under paragraph 
                (1)(B);
                    ``(C) using information in direct response to a 
                communication initiated by the consumer in which the 
                consumer has requested information about a product or 
                service; or
                    ``(D) using information to directly respond to 
                solicitations authorized or requested by the consumer.
    ``(b) Notice for Other Purposes Permissible.--A notice or other 
disclosure that is equivalent to the notice required by subsection (a), 
and that is provided by a person described in subsection (a) to a 
consumer together with disclosures required by any other provision of 
law shall satisfy the requirements of subsection (a).''.
    (b) Rulemaking Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal banking agencies, the National 
        Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission 
        shall, with respect to the entities that are subject to their 
        respective enforcement authority under section 621 of the Fair 
        Credit Reporting Act, and in coordination as described in 
        paragraph (2), prescribe regulations to implement section 624 
        of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as added by this section.
            (2) Coordination.--Each agency required to prescribe 
        regulations under paragraph (1) shall consult and coordinate 
        with each other such agency so that, to the extent possible, 
        the regulations prescribed by each such entity are consistent 
        and comparable with the regulations prescribed by each other 
        such agency.
            (3) Considerations.--In promulgating regulations under this 
        subsection, the Commission shall--
                    (A) ensure that affiliate sharing notification 
                methods provide a simple means for consumers to make 
                determinations and choices under section 624 of the 
                Fair Credit Reporting Act, as added by this section; 
                and
                    (B) consider the affiliate sharing notification 
                practices employed on the date of enactment of this Act 
                by persons that will be subject to that section 624.
            (4) Timing.--Regulations required by this subsection 
        shall--
                    (A) be issued in final form not later than 6 months 
                after the date of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) become effective not later than 3 months after 
                the date on which they are issued in final form.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 603(d)(2)(A) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting 
``subject to section 624,'' after ``(A)''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681 et seq.) is amended in the table of sections, by striking the 
items following the item relating to section 623 and inserting the 
following:

``624. Affiliate sharing.
``625. Relation to State laws.
``626. Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes.''.
    (e) Studies of Information Sharing Practices.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal banking agencies, the National 
        Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission 
        shall jointly conduct regular studies of the consumer 
        information sharing practices by financial institutions and 
        other persons that are creditors or users of consumer reports 
        with their affiliates.
            (2) Matters for study.--In conducting the studies required 
        by paragraph (1), the agencies described in paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) identify--
                            (i) the purposes for which financial 
                        institutions and other creditors and users of 
                        consumer reports share consumer information;
                            (ii) the types of information shared by 
                        such entities with their affiliates;
                            (iii) the number of choices provided to 
                        consumers with respect to the control of such 
                        sharing, and the degree to and manner in which 
                        consumers exercise such choices, if at all; and
                            (iv) whether such entities share or may 
                        share personally identifiable transaction or 
                        experience information with affiliates for 
                        purposes--
                                    (I) that are related to employment 
                                or hiring, including whether the person 
                                that is the subject of such information 
                                is given notice of such sharing, and 
                                the specific uses of such shared 
                                information; or
                                    (II) of general publication of such 
                                information; and
                    (B) specifically examine the information sharing 
                practices that financial institutions and other 
                creditors and users of consumer reports and their 
                affiliates employ for the purpose of making 
                underwriting decisions or credit evaluations of 
                consumers.
            (3) Reports.--
                    (A) Initial report.--Not later than 3 years after 
                the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal banking 
                agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, and 
                the Federal Trade Commission shall jointly submit a 
                report to the Congress on the results of the initial 
                study conducted in accordance with this subsection, 
                together with any recommendations for legislative or 
                regulatory action.
                    (B) Followup reports.--The Federal banking 
                agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, and 
                the Federal Trade Commission shall, not less frequently 
                than once every 3 years following the date of 
                submission of the initial report under subparagraph 
                (A), jointly submit a report to the Congress that, 
                together with any recommendations for legislative or 
                regulatory action--
                            (i) documents any changes in the areas of 
                        study referred to in paragraph (2)(A) occurring 
                        since the date of submission of the previous 
                        report;
                            (ii) identifies any changes in the 
                        practices of financial institutions and other 
                        creditors and users of consumer reports in 
                        sharing consumer information with their 
                        affiliates for the purpose of making 
                        underwriting decisions or credit evaluations of 
                        consumers occurring since the date of 
                        submission of the previous report; and
                            (iii) examines the effects that changes 
                        described in clause (ii) have had, if any, on 
                        the degree to which such affiliate sharing 
                        practices reduce the need for financial 
                        institutions, creditors, and other users of 
                        consumer reports to rely on credit reports for 
                        such decisions.
    (f) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the terms ``consumer'', ``consumer report'', ``consumer 
        reporting agency'', ``creditor'', ``Federal banking agencies'', 
        and ``financial institution'', have the same meanings as in 
        section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by 
        this Act; and
            (2) the term ``affiliates'' means persons that are related 
        by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control.

SEC. 215. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF CREDIT SCORES AND CREDIT-BASED INSURANCE 
              SCORES ON AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF FINANCIAL 
              PRODUCTS.

    (a) Defined Term.--As used in this section, the term ``credit 
score'' means a numerical value or a categorization derived from a 
statistical tool or modeling system used to predict the likelihood of 
certain credit or insurance behaviors, including default.
    (b) Study Required.--The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct a 
study of--
            (1) the effects of the use of credit scores and credit-
        based insurance scores on the availability and affordability of 
        financial products and services, including credit cards, 
        mortgages, auto loans, and property and casualty insurance;
            (2) the degree of correlation between the factors 
        considered by credit score systems and the quantifiable risks 
        and actual losses experienced by businesses, including the 
        extent to which each of the factors considered or otherwise 
        taken into account by such systems correlated to risk or loss;
            (3) the extent to which the use of credit scoring models, 
        credit scores and credit-based insurance scores benefit or 
        negatively impact persons based on geography, income, 
        ethnicity, race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, 
        marital status, or creed; and
            (4) the extent to which credit scoring systems are used by 
        businesses, the factors considered by such systems, and the 
        effects of variables which are not considered by such systems.
    (c) Public Participation.--The Commission shall seek public input 
about the prescribed methodology and research design of the study 
required by subsection (b).
    (d) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Before the end of the 18-month period 
        beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 
        Trade Commission shall submit a detailed report on the study 
        conducted under this section to the Committee on Financial 
        Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) the findings and conclusions of the Commission;
                    (B) recommendations to address specific areas of 
                concern that were identified in the study; and
                    (C) recommendations for legislative or 
                administrative action that the Commission may determine 
                to be necessary to ensure that credit and credit-based 
                insurances score are used appropriately and fairly.

    TITLE III--ENHANCING THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION

SEC. 311. NOTICE WITH RESPECT TO COUNTER OFFERS.

    (a) Rulemaking.--Section 603(k) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681a(k)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
                    (A) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), and 
                        subject to regulations prescribed by the 
                        Federal banking agencies, the National Credit 
                        Union Administration, and the Federal Trade 
                        Commission with respect to the entities that 
                        are subject to their respective enforcement 
                        authority under section 621 and in coordination 
                        as described in paragraph (3), an extension or 
                        grant of credit based on a counter offer by the 
                        creditor on material terms, including interest 
                        rate, that are materially less favorable than 
                        the terms generally available to consumers from 
                        the creditor, based in whole or in part on a 
                        consumer report.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Coordination of rulemaking.--Each agency required to 
        prescribe regulations under paragraph (1)(B)(v) shall consult 
        and coordinate with each other such agency so that, to the 
        extent possible, the regulations prescribed by each such entity 
        are consistent and comparable with the regulations prescribed 
        by each other such agency.''.
    (b) Rulemaking.--Regulations required by section 603(k)(1)(B)(v) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as added by this section, shall be 
issued in final form not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
become effective on the effective date of regulations prescribed in 
accordance with subsection (b).

SEC. 312. PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF 
              INFORMATION FURNISHED TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.

    (a) Accuracy Guidelines and Regulations.--Section 623 of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Accuracy Guidelines and Regulations Required.--
            ``(1) Guidelines.--The Federal banking agencies, the 
        National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Trade 
        Commission shall, with respect to the entities that are subject 
        to their respective enforcement authority under section 621, 
        and in coordination as described in paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) establish and maintain guidelines for use by 
                each person that furnishes information to a consumer 
                reporting agency regarding the accuracy and 
                completeness of the information relating to consumers 
                that such entities furnish to consumer reporting 
                agencies, and update such guidelines as often as 
                necessary; and
                    ``(B) prescribe regulations requiring each person 
                that furnishes information to a consumer reporting 
                agency to establish reasonable policies and procedures 
                for implementing the guidelines established pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(2) Coordination.--Each agency required to prescribe 
        regulations under paragraph (1) shall consult and coordinate 
        with each other such agency so that, to the extent possible, 
        the regulations prescribed by each such entity are consistent 
        and comparable with the regulations prescribed by each other 
        such agency.
            ``(3) Criteria.--In developing the guidelines required by 
        paragraph (1)(A), the agencies described in paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) identify patterns, practices, and specific 
                forms of activity that can compromise the accuracy and 
                completeness of information furnished to consumer 
                reporting agencies;
                    ``(B) review the methods (including technological 
                means) used to furnish information relating to 
                consumers to consumer reporting agencies;
                    ``(C) determine whether persons that furnish 
                information to consumer reporting agencies maintain and 
                enforce policies to provide complete and accurate 
                information to consumer reporting agencies; and
                    ``(D) examine the policies and processes that 
                persons that furnish information to consumer reporting 
                agencies employ to conduct reinvestigations and correct 
                inaccurate information relating to consumers that has 
                been furnished to consumer reporting agencies.''.
    (b) Furnisher Liability Exception.--Section 623(a)(5) of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(5)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: ``For purposes of this paragraph only, and 
subject to the requirements of this section, a person that so notifies 
the agency may rely on the date provided by the entity to whom the 
account was owed at the time that the delinquency occurred, provided 
that the consumer does not dispute the information.''.

SEC. 313. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY ACTION 
              CONCERNING COMPLAINTS.

    Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Treatment of Complaints and Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall--
                    ``(A) compile all complaints that it receives that 
                a file of a consumer that is maintained by a consumer 
                reporting agency described in section 603(p) contains 
                incomplete or inaccurate information, with respect to 
                which, the consumer appears to have disputed the 
                completeness or accuracy with the consumer reporting 
                agency or otherwise utilized the procedures provided by 
                subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) transmit each such complaint to each consumer 
                reporting agency involved.
            ``(2) Exclusion.--Complaints received or obtained by the 
        Commission pursuant to its investigative authority under the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act shall not be subject to this 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Agency responsibilities.--Each consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p) that receives a complaint 
        transmitted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) review each such complaint to determine 
                whether all legal obligations imposed on the consumer 
                reporting agency under this title (including any 
                obligation imposed by an applicable court or 
                administrative order) have been met with respect to the 
                subject matter of the complaint;
                    ``(B) provide reports on a regular basis to the 
                Commission regarding the determinations of and actions 
                taken by the consumer reporting agency, if any, in 
                connection with its review of such complaints; and
                    ``(C) maintain, for a reasonable time period, 
                records regarding the disposition of each such 
                complaint that is sufficient to demonstrate compliance 
                with this subsection.
            ``(4) Rulemaking authority.--The Commission may prescribe 
        regulations in accordance with the requirements of section 553 
        of title 5, United States Code, as appropriate to implement 
        this subsection.
            ``(5) Annual report to congress.--The Commission shall 
        submit to Congress an annual report regarding compliance with 
        this subsection.''.

SEC. 314. ONGOING AUDITS OF THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORTS.

    (a) Audits Required.--The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System (in this section referred to as ``the Board'') shall conduct 
ongoing audits of the accuracy and completeness of information 
contained in consumer reports prepared or maintained by consumer 
reporting agencies. The Board shall independently verify the accuracy 
and completeness of information contained in consumer reports by 
evaluating information and data provided by consumer reporting agencies 
(as defined in section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act).
    (b) Subject Matters.--In conducting audits under this section, the 
Board shall examine--
            (1) the accuracy and completeness of information contained 
        in consumer reports, including an analysis of the type of 
        inaccurate or incomplete information, if any, that may have the 
        most significant impact on the availability and terms of 
        various credit products offered to borrowers; and
            (2) the impact, if any, of incomplete and inaccurate 
        information on the credit and credit-based insurance scores 
        that are most widely used to determine borrower credit 
        worthiness and to make insurance underwriting and rating 
        decisions, including an analysis of how, if at all, changes to 
        credit scores resulting from inaccurate or incomplete credit 
        reporting information affect the availability and terms of 
        various credit products offered to borrowers.
    (c) Biennial Reports Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Board shall submit a report to the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 
        and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives at the end of the 2-year period beginning on 
        the date of enactment of this Act. Thereafter, the Board shall 
        conduct additional audits and submit additional reports once 
        every 2 years.
            (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under this subsection 
        shall contain a detailed summary of the findings and 
        conclusions of the Board with respect to the audits required by 
        this section, and such recommendations for legislative and 
        administrative action as the Board may determine to be 
        appropriate.
    (d) Provision of Reports to the Board for Purposes of Analysis.--
Section 604(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (12 U.S.C. 1681b(d)) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Furnishing Consumer Reports for Accuracy or Compliance 
Audits.--A consumer reporting agency shall provide consumer reports to 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, upon request, for 
the purpose of conducting an accuracy or compliance audit in accordance 
with section 314 of the National Consumer Credit Reporting System 
Improvement Act of 2003.''.

SEC. 315. IMPROVED DISCLOSURE OF THE RESULTS OF REINVESTIGATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 611(a)(5)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended by striking ``shall'' and all that 
follows through the end of the subparagraph, and inserting the 
following: ``shall--
                            ``(i) promptly delete that item of 
                        information from the file of the consumer, or 
                        modify that item of information, as 
                        appropriate, based on the results of the 
                        reinvestigation; and
                            ``(ii) promptly notify the furnisher of 
                        that information that the information has been 
                        deleted from the file of the consumer.''.
    (b) Furnisher Requirements Relating to Inaccurate, Incomplete, or 
Unverifiable Information.--Section 623(b)(1) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(b)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting the following:
                ``; and
                    ``(E) if an item of any information disputed by a 
                consumer is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or 
                cannot be verified after any reinvestigation under 
                paragraph (1), promptly delete that item of information 
                from the furnisher's records or modify that item of 
                information, as appropriate, based on the results of 
                the reinvestigation.''.

SEC. 316. RECONCILING ADDRESSES.

    Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c), as 
amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Notice of Discrepancy in Address.--
            ``(1) In general.--If a person has requested a consumer 
        report relating to a consumer from a consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p), the request includes an address 
        for the consumer that substantially differs from the addresses 
        in the file of the consumer, and the agency provides a consumer 
        report in response to the request, the consumer reporting 
        agency shall notify the requester of the existence of the 
        discrepancy.
            ``(2) Regulations.--
                    ``(A) Regulations required.--The Federal banking 
                agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, and 
                the Federal Trade Commission shall, with respect to the 
                entities that are subject to their respective 
                enforcement authority under section 621, and in 
                coordination as described in subparagraph (B), 
                prescribe regulations providing guidance regarding 
                reasonable policies and procedures that a user of a 
                consumer report should employ when such user has 
                received a notice of discrepancy under paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Coordination.--Each agency required to 
                prescribe regulations under subparagraph (A) shall 
                consult and coordinate with each other such agency so 
                that, to the extent possible, the regulations 
                prescribed by each such entity are consistent and 
                comparable with the regulations prescribed by each 
                other such agency.
                    ``(C) Policies and procedures to be included.--The 
                regulations prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall 
                describe reasonable policies and procedures for use by 
                a user of a consumer report--
                            ``(i) to form a reasonable belief that the 
                        user knows the identity of the person to whom 
                        the consumer report pertains; and
                            ``(ii) if the user establishes a continuing 
                        relationship with the consumer, and the user 
                        regularly and in the ordinary course of 
                        business furnishes information to the consumer 
                        reporting agency from which the notice of 
                        discrepancy pertaining to the consumer was 
                        obtained, to reconcile the address of the 
                        consumer with the consumer reporting agency by 
                        furnishing such address to such consumer 
                        reporting agency as part of information 
                        regularly furnished by the user for the period 
                        in which the relationship is established.''.

SEC. 317. FTC STUDY OF ISSUES RELATING TO THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING 
              ACT.

    (a) Study Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct 
        a study on ways to improve the operation of the Fair Credit 
        Reporting Act.
            (2) Areas for study.--In conducting the study under 
        paragraph (1), the Commission shall review--
                    (A) the efficacy of increasing the number of points 
                of identifying information that a credit reporting 
                agency is required to match to ensure that a consumer 
                is the correct individual to whom a consumer report 
                relates before releasing a consumer report to a user, 
                including--
                            (i) the extent to which requiring 
                        additional points of such identifying 
                        information to match would--
                                    (I) enhance the accuracy of credit 
                                reports; and
                                    (II) combat the provision of 
                                incorrect consumer reports to users;
                            (ii) the extent to which requiring an exact 
                        match of the first and last name, social 
                        security number, and address and ZIP Code of 
                        the consumer would enhance the likelihood of 
                        increasing credit report accuracy; and
                            (iii) the effects of allowing consumer 
                        reporting agencies to use partial matches of 
                        social security numbers and name recognition 
                        software on the accuracy of credit reports;
                    (B) requiring notification to consumers when 
                negative information has been added to their credit 
                reports, including--
                            (i) the potential impact of such 
                        notification on the ability of consumers to 
                        identify errors on their credit reports; and
                            (ii) the potential impact of such 
                        notification on the ability of consumers to 
                        remove fraudulent information from their credit 
                        reports;
                    (C) the effects of requiring that a consumer who 
                has experienced an adverse action based on a credit 
                report receives a copy of the same credit report that 
                the creditor relied on in taking the adverse action, 
                including--
                            (i) the extent to which providing such 
                        reports to consumers would increase the ability 
                        of consumers to identify errors in their credit 
                        reports; and
                            (ii) the extent to which providing such 
                        reports to consumers would increase the ability 
of consumers to remove fraudulent information from their credit 
reports;
                    (D) any common financial transactions that are not 
                generally reported to the consumer reporting agencies, 
                but would provide useful information in determining the 
                credit worthiness of consumers; and
                    (E) any actions that might be taken within a 
                voluntary reporting system to encourage the reporting 
                of the types of transactions described in subparagraph 
                (D).
            (3) Costs and benefits.--With respect to each area of study 
        described in paragraph (2), the Commission shall consider the 
        extent to which such requirements would benefit consumers, 
        balanced against the cost of implementing such provisions.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission 
shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the 
House of Representatives containing a detailed summary of the findings 
and conclusions of the study under this section, together with such 
recommendations for legislative or administrative actions as may be 
appropriate.

 TITLE IV--LIMITING THE USE AND SHARING OF MEDICAL INFORMATION IN THE 
                            FINANCIAL SYSTEM

SEC. 411. PROTECTION OF MEDICAL INFORMATION IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 604(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(g) Protection of Medical Information.--
            ``(1) Limitation on consumer reporting agencies.--A 
        consumer reporting agency shall not furnish for employment 
        purposes, or in connection with a credit or insurance 
        transaction, a consumer report that contains medical 
        information about a consumer, unless--
                    ``(A) if furnished in connection with an insurance 
                transaction, the consumer affirmatively consents to the 
                furnishing of the report;
                    ``(B) if furnished for employment purposes or in 
                connection with a credit transaction--
                            ``(i) the information to be furnished is 
                        relevant to process or effect the employment or 
                        credit transaction; and
                            ``(ii) the consumer provides specific 
                        written consent for the furnishing of the 
                        report that describes in clear and conspicuous 
                        language the use for which the information will 
                        be furnished; or
                    ``(C) such information is restricted or reported 
                using codes that do not identify, or provide 
                information sufficient to infer, the specific provider 
                or the nature of such services, products, or devices to 
                a person other than the consumer, unless the report is 
                being provided to an insurance company for a purpose 
                relating to engaging in the business of insurance, 
                other than property and casualty insurance.
            ``(2) Limitation on creditors.--Except as permitted 
        pursuant to paragraph (3)(C) or regulations prescribed under 
        paragraph (5)(A), a creditor shall not obtain or use medical 
        information pertaining to a consumer in connection with any 
        determination of the consumer's eligibility, or continued 
        eligibility, for credit.
            ``(3) Actions authorized by federal law, insurance 
        activities and regulatory determinations.--Section 603(d)(3) 
        shall not be construed so as to treat information or any 
        communication of information as a consumer report if the 
        information or communication is disclosed--
                    ``(A) in connection with the business of insurance 
                or annuities, including the activities described in 
                section 18B of the model Privacy of Consumer Financial 
                and Health Information Regulation issued by the 
                National Association of Insurance Commissioners (as in 
                effect on January 1, 2003);
                    ``(B) for any purpose permitted without 
                authorization under the Standards for Individually 
                Identifiable Health Information promulgated by the 
                Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to the 
                Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 
                1996, or referred to under section 1179 of such Act, or 
                described in section 502(e) of Public Law 106-102; or
                    ``(C) as otherwise determined to be necessary and 
                appropriate, by regulation or order and subject to 
                paragraph (6), by the Commission, any Federal banking 
                agency or the National Credit Union Administration 
                (with respect to any financial institution subject to 
                the jurisdiction of such agency or Administration under 
                paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 621(b), or the 
                applicable State insurance authority (with respect to 
                any person engaged in providing insurance or 
                annuities).
            ``(4) Limitation on redisclosure of medical information.--
        Any person that receives medical information pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) or (3) shall not disclose such information to any 
        other person, except as necessary to carry out the purpose for 
        which the information was initially disclosed, or as otherwise 
        permitted by statute, regulation, or order.
            ``(5) Regulations and effective date for paragraph (2).--
                    ``(A) Regulations required.--Each Federal banking 
                agency and the National Credit Union Administration 
                shall, subject to paragraph (6) and after notice and 
                opportunity for comment, prescribe regulations that 
                permit transactions under paragraph (2) that are 
                determined to be necessary and appropriate to protect 
                legitimate operational, transactional, risk, consumer, 
and other needs, consistent with the intent of paragraph (2) to 
restrict the use of medical information for inappropriate purposes.
                    ``(B) Final regulations required.--The Federal 
                banking agencies and the National Credit Union 
                Administration shall issue the regulations required 
                under subparagraph (A) in final form before the end of 
                the 6-month period beginning on the date of enactment 
                of the National Consumer Credit Reporting System 
                Improvement Act of 2003.
            ``(6) Coordination with other laws.--No provision of this 
        subsection shall be construed as altering, affecting, or 
        superseding the applicability of any other provision of Federal 
        law relating to medical confidentiality.''.
    (b) Restriction on Sharing of Medical Information.--Section 603(d) 
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The term'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), the term''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Restriction on sharing of medical information.--
        Except for information or any communication of information 
        disclosed as provided in section 604(g)(3), the exclusions in 
        paragraph (2) shall not apply with respect to information 
        disclosed to any person related by common ownership or 
        affiliated by corporate control, if--
                    ``(A) the information is medical information; or
                    ``(B) the information is an individualized list or 
                description based on a consumer's payment transactions 
                for medical products or services, or an aggregate list 
                of identified consumers based on payment transactions 
                for medical products or services.''.
    (c) Effective Dates.--This section shall take effect at the end of 
the 180-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 
except that paragraph (2) of section 604(g) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (as amended by subsection (a)) shall take effect on the 
later of--
            (1) the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date on 
        which the regulations required under paragraph (5)(B) of such 
        section 604(g) (as added by subsection (a) of this section) are 
        issued in final form; or
            (2) the date specified in the regulations referred to in 
        paragraph (1).

SEC. 412. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL CONTACT INFORMATION IN CONSUMER 
              REPORTS.

    (a) Duties of Medical Information Furnishers.--Section 623(a) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Duty to provide notice of status as medical 
        information furnisher.--A person whose primary business is 
        providing medical services, products, or devices, or the 
        person's agent or assignee, who furnishes information to a 
        consumer reporting agency on a consumer shall be considered a 
        medical information furnisher for purposes of this title, and 
        shall notify the agency of such status.''.
    (b) Restriction of Dissemination of Medical Contact Information.--
Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) The name, address, and telephone number of any 
        medical information furnisher that has notified the agency of 
        its status, unless--
                    ``(A) such name, address, and telephone number are 
                restricted or reported using codes that do not 
                identify, or provide information sufficient to infer, 
                the specific provider or the nature of such services, 
                products, or devices to a person other than the 
                consumer; or
                    ``(B) the report is being provided to an insurance 
                company for a purpose relating to engaging in the 
                business of insurance other than property and casualty 
                insurance.''.
    (c) No Exceptions Allowed for Dollar Amounts.--Section 605(b) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)) is amended by 
striking ``The provisions of subsection (a)'' and inserting ``The 
provisions of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a)''.
    (d) Coordination With Other Laws.--No provision of any amendment 
made by this section shall be construed as altering, affecting, or 
superseding the applicability of any other provision of Federal law 
relating to medical confidentiality.
    (e) FTC Regulation of Coding of Trade Names.--Section 621 of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s), as amended by this Act, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) FTC Regulation of Coding of Trade Names.--If the Commission 
determines that a person described in paragraph (6) of section 623(a) 
has not met the requirements of such paragraph, the Commission shall 
take action to ensure the person's compliance with such paragraph, 
which may include issuing model guidance or prescribing reasonable 
policies and procedures as necessary to ensure that such person 
complies with such paragraph.''.
    (f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 604(g) of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)), as amended by section 
411 of this Act, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``(other than medical 
        contact information treated in the manner required under 
        section 605(a)(6))'' after ``a consumer report that contains 
        medical information''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``(other than medical 
        information treated in the manner required under section 
        605(a)(6))'' after ``a creditor shall not obtain or use medical 
        information''.
    (g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect at the end of the 15-month period beginning on the date of 
enactment of this Act.

         TITLE V--FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT

SEC. 511. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Financial Literacy and Education 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 512. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this title--
            (1) the term ``Chairperson'' means the chairperson of the 
        Financial Literacy and Education Commission; and
            (2) the term ``Commission'' means the Financial Literacy 
        and Education Commission established under section 513.

SEC. 513. ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--There is established a commission to be known as 
the ``Financial Literacy and Education Commission''.
    (b) Purpose.--The Commission shall serve to improve the financial 
literacy and education of persons in the United States.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Treasury;
                    (B) the respective head of each of the Federal 
                banking agencies (as defined in section 3 of the 
                Federal Deposit Insurance Act), the National Credit 
                Union Administration, the Securities and Exchange 
                Commission, each of the Departments of Education, 
                Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, 
                Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans 
                Affairs, the Federal Trade Commission, the General 
                Services Administration, the Small Business 
                Administration, the Social Security Administration, the 
                Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of 
                Personnel Management; and
                    (C) at the discretion of the President, not more 
                than 5 individuals appointed by the President from 
                among the administrative heads of any other Federal 
                agencies, departments, or other Government entities, 
                whom the President determines to be engaged in a 
                serious effort to improve financial literacy and 
                education.
            (2) Alternates.--Each member of the Commission may 
        designate an alternate if the member is unable to attend a 
        meeting of the Commission. Such alternate shall be an 
        individual who exercises significant decisionmaking authority.
    (d) Chairperson.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall serve as the 
Chairperson.
    (e) Meetings.--The Commission shall hold, at the call of the 
Chairperson, at least 1 meeting every 4 months. All such meetings shall 
be open to the public. The Commission may hold, at the call of the 
Chairperson, such other meetings as the Chairperson sees fit to carry 
out this title.
    (f) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.
    (g) Initial Meeting.--The Commission shall hold its first meeting 
not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 514. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission, through the authority of 
        the members referred to in section 513(c), shall take such 
        actions as it deems necessary to streamline, improve, or 
        augment the financial literacy and education programs, grants, 
        and materials of the Federal Government, including curricula 
        for all Americans.
            (2) Areas of emphasis.--To improve financial literacy and 
        education, the Commission shall emphasize, among other 
        elements, basic personal income and household money management 
        and planning skills, including how to--
                    (A) create household budgets, initiate savings 
                plans, and make strategic investment decisions for 
                education, retirement, home ownership, wealth building, 
                or other savings goals;
                    (B) manage spending, credit, and debt, including 
                credit card debt, effectively;
                    (C) increase awareness of the availability and 
                significance of credit reports and credit scores in 
                obtaining credit, the importance of their accuracy (and 
                how to correct inaccuracies), their effect on credit 
                terms, and the effect common financial decisions may 
                have on credit scores;
                    (D) ascertain fair and favorable credit terms;
                    (E) avoid abusive, predatory, or deceptive credit 
                offers and financial products;
                    (F) understand, evaluate, and compare financial 
                products, services, and opportunities;
                    (G) understand resources that ought to be easily 
                accessible and affordable, and that inform and educate 
                investors as to their rights and avenues of recourse 
                when an investor believes his or her rights have been 
                violated by unprofessional conduct of market 
                intermediaries; and
                    (H) improve financial literacy and education 
                through all other related skills.
    (b) Website.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall establish and 
        maintain a website, such as the domain name 
        ``FinancialLiteracy.gov'', or a similar domain name.
            (2) Purposes.--The website established under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) serve as a clearinghouse of information about 
                Federal financial literacy and education programs;
                    (B) provide a coordinated entry point for accessing 
                information about all Federal publications, grants, and 
                materials promoting enhanced financial literacy and 
                education;
                    (C) offer information on all Federal grants to 
                promote financial literacy and education, and on how to 
target, apply for, and receive a grant that is most appropriate under 
the circumstances;
                    (D) as the Commission considers appropriate, 
                feature website links to efforts that have no 
                commercial content and that feature information about 
                financial literacy and education programs, materials, 
                or campaigns; and
                    (E) offer such other information as the Commission 
                finds appropriate to share with the public in the 
                fulfillment of its purpose.
    (c) Toll-Free Hotline.--The Commission shall establish a toll-free 
telephone number that shall be made available to members of the public 
seeking information about issues pertaining to financial literacy and 
education.
    (d) Development and Dissemination of Materials.--The Commission 
shall--
            (1) develop materials to promote financial literacy and 
        education; and
            (2) disseminate such materials to the general public.
    (e) Coordination of Efforts.--The Commission shall take such steps 
as are necessary to coordinate and promote financial literacy and 
education efforts at the State and local level, including promoting 
partnerships among Federal, State, and local governments, nonprofit 
organizations, and private enterprises.
    (f) National Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall--
                    (A) not later than 18 months after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, develop a national strategy to 
                promote basic financial literacy and education among 
                all American consumers; and
                    (B) coordinate Federal efforts to implement the 
                strategy developed under subparagraph (A).
            (2) Strategy.--The strategy to promote basic financial 
        literacy and education required to be developed under paragraph 
        (1) shall provide for--
                    (A) participation by State and local governments 
                and private, nonprofit, and public institutions in the 
                creation and implementation of such strategy;
                    (B) the development of methods--
                            (i) to increase the general financial 
                        education level of current and future consumers 
                        of financial services and products; and
                            (ii) to enhance the general understanding 
                        of financial services and products;
                    (C) review of Federal activities designed to 
                promote financial literacy and education, and 
                development of a plan to improve coordination of such 
                activities; and
                    (D) the identification of areas of overlap and 
                duplication among Federal financial literacy and 
                education activities and proposed means of eliminating 
                any such overlap and duplication.
            (3) National strategy review.--The Commission shall, not 
        less than annually, review the national strategy developed 
        under this subsection and make such changes and recommendations 
        as it deems necessary
    (g) Consultation.--The Commission shall actively consult with a 
variety of representatives from private and nonprofit organizations and 
State and local agencies, as determined appropriate by the Commission.
    (h) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        the first meeting of the Commission, and annually thereafter, 
        the Commission shall issue a report to the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives 
        on the progress of the Commission in carrying out this title.
            (2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) information concerning the implementation of 
                the duties of the Commission under subsections (a) 
                through (g);
                    (B) an assessment of the success of the Commission 
                in implementing the national strategy developed under 
                subsection (f);
                    (C) an assessment of the availability, utilization, 
                and impact of Federal financial literacy and education 
                materials;
                    (D) information concerning the content and public 
                use of--
                            (i) the website established under 
                        subsection (b); and
                            (ii) the toll-free telephone number 
                        established under subsection (c);
                    (E) a brief survey of the financial literacy and 
                education materials developed under subsection (d), and 
                data regarding the dissemination and impact of such 
                materials, as measured by improved financial decision 
                making;
                    (F) a brief summary of any hearings conducted by 
                the Commission, including a list of witnesses who 
                testified at such hearings;
                    (G) information about the activities of the 
                Commission planned for the next fiscal year;
                    (H) a summary of all Federal financial literacy and 
                education activities targeted to communities that have 
                historically lacked access to financial literacy 
                materials and education, and have been underserved by 
                the mainstream financial systems; and
                    (I) such other materials relating to the duties of 
                the Commission as the Commission deems appropriate.
            (3) Initial report.--The initial report under paragraph (1) 
        shall include information regarding all Federal programs, 
        materials, and grants which seek to improve financial literacy, 
        and assess the effectiveness of such programs.
    (i) Testimony.--The Commission shall provide, upon request, 
testimony by the Chairperson to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Financial Services of 
the House of Representatives.

SEC. 515. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out this title.
    (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Commission may secure 
directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the 
Commission considers necessary to carry out this title. Upon request of 
the Chairperson, the head of such department or agency shall furnish 
such information to the Commission.
    (c) Periodic Studies.--The Commission may conduct periodic studies 
regarding the state of financial literacy and education in the United 
States, as the Commission determines appropriate.

SEC. 516. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--Each member of the Commission shall 
serve without compensation in addition to that received for their 
service as an officer or employee of the United States.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Commission shall be 
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at 
rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes 
or regular places of business in the performance of services for the 
Commission.
    (c) Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Financial 
        Education of the Department of the Treasury shall provide 
        assistance to the Commission, upon request of the Commission, 
        without reimbursement.
            (2) Detail of government employees.--Any Federal Government 
        employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
        reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or 
        loss of civil service status or privilege.

SEC. 517. STUDY BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.

    Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to 
Congress assessing the effectiveness of the Commission in promoting 
financial literacy and education.

SEC. 518. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this title, including administrative 
expenses of the Commission.

                    TITLE VI--RELATION TO STATE LAW

SEC. 611. RELATION TO STATE LAW.

    Section 625(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681t(d), regarding relation to State laws), as so designated by 
section 214 of this Act, is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (2);
            (2) by striking ``(c)--'' and all that follows through ``do 
        not affect'' and inserting ``(c) do not affect''; and
            (3) by striking ``1996; and'' and inserting ``1996.''.

                        TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 711. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--Section 601 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1601 note) is amended by striking ``the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act.'' and inserting ``the `Fair Credit Reporting Act'.''.
    (b) Section 604.--Section 604(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)) is amended in paragraphs (1) through (5), other 
than subparagraphs (E) and (F) of paragraph (3), by moving each margin 
2 ems to the right.
    (c) Section 605.--
            (1) Section 605(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
        U.S.C. 1681c(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``(1) cases'' and 
        inserting ``(1) Cases''.
            (2)(A) Section 5(1) of Public Law 105-347 (112 Stat. 3211) 
        is amended by striking ``Judgments which'' and inserting 
        ``judgments which''.
            (B) The amendment made by subparagraph (A) shall be deemed 
        to have the same effective date as section 5(1) of Public Law 
        105-347 (112 Stat. 3211).
    (d) Section 609.--Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by moving the margin 2 ems to the 
        right; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by moving the margins 2 ems to the 
        left.
    (e) Section 617.--Section 617(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681o(a)(1)) is amended by adding ``and'' at the end.
    (f) Section 621.--Section 621(b)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ``25(a)'' and 
inserting ``25A''.
    (g) Title 31.--Section 5318 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by redesignating the second item designated as subsection (l) 
(relating to applicability of rules) as subsection (m).
    (h) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2411(c) of Public Law 104-208 
(110 Stat. 3009-445) is repealed.




                                                       Calendar No. 312

108th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1753

                          [Report No. 108-166]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act in order to prevent identity 
 theft, to improve the use of and consumer access to consumer reports, 
 to enhance the accuracy of consumer reports, to limit the sharing of 
   certain consumer information, to improve financial education and 
                   literacy, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 17, 2003

                 Read twice and placed on the calendar