[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2361 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2361

To improve the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by explicitly barring 
   debt collectors from bringing legal action on a debt in which the 
statute of limitations has expired against any consumer, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2011

  Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. McDermott, Mr. 
Meeks, and Ms. Lee of California) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by explicitly barring 
   debt collectors from bringing legal action on a debt in which the 
statute of limitations has expired against any consumer, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Debt Collection Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. COLLECTION OF TIME-BARRED DEBT.

    (a) Legal Actions on Time-Barred Debt.--Section 811 of the Fair 
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692i) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(c) A debt collector may not bring, or threaten to bring, legal 
action against any consumer on a debt in which the statute of 
limitations has expired.''.
    (b) Communication With Consumers With Time-Barred Debt.--Section 
805 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1692c) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting the following:
    ``(d) Communication With Consumers With Time-Barred Debt.--In 
connection with the collection of debt in which the statute of 
limitations has expired, a debt collector shall disclose to a consumer 
the following:
            ``(1) The debt has been transferred to the debt collector.
            ``(2) The creditor no longer holds the debt.
            ``(3) As a result of the expiration of the statute of 
        limitations with respect to such debt, the debt collector may 
        not bring legal action against the consumer to collect such 
        debt.
            ``(4) Any payment by the consumer towards the debt may 
        cause the statute of limitations for such debt to reset.''.
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