[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1816 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1816
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to enhance fraud alert
procedures and provide free access to credit freezes, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 14, 2017
Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Wyden, Mr.
Durbin, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Franken) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to enhance fraud alert
procedures and provide free access to credit freezes, 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 ``Freedom from Equifax Exploitation
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF CREDIT FREEZE.
Section 603(q) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681a(q)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Credit freeze.--
``(A) In general.--The term `credit freeze' means a
restriction placed at the request of a consumer or a
personal representative of the consumer, on the
consumer report of the consumer, that prohibits a
consumer reporting agency from releasing the consumer
report for a purpose relating to the extension of
credit without the express authorization of the
consumer.
``(B) Exception.--A credit freeze shall not apply
to the use of a consumer report by any of the
following:
``(i) A person, or the subsidiary,
affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee of
the person, with whom the consumer has, or
prior to assignment had, an account, contract,
or debtor-creditor relationship for the
purposes of reviewing the active account or
collecting the financial obligation owed on the
account, contract, or debt.
``(ii) A person, or the subsidiary,
affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or assignee of
the person, to whom access has been granted
pursuant to a request by the consumer described
under section 605A(i)(1)(B), for purposes of
facilitating the extension of credit or other
permissible use.
``(iii) Any person acting pursuant to a
court order, warrant, or subpoena.
``(iv) A Federal, State, or local
government, or an agent or assignee thereof.
``(v) Any person for the sole purpose of
providing a credit monitoring or identity theft
protection service to which the consumer has
subscribed.
``(vi) Any person for the purpose of
providing a consumer with a copy of the
consumer report or credit score of the consumer
upon request by the consumer.
``(vii) Any person or entity for insurance
purposes, including use in setting or adjusting
a rate, adjusting a claim, or underwriting.
``(viii) Any person acting pursuant to an
authorization from a consumer to use their
consumer report for employment purposes.''.
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF FRAUD ALERT PROTECTIONS.
Section 605A of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c-1)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``One-
Call'' and inserting ``One-Year'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``Initial alerts'' and inserting ``In
general'';
(ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``or harmed by the
unauthorized disclosure of the financial or
personally identifiable information of the
consumer,'' after ``identity theft,'';
(iii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``90 days'' and
inserting ``1 year''; and
(II) by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(iv) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by inserting ``1-year'' before
``fraud alert''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) upon the expiration of the 1-year period
described in subparagraph (A) or a subsequent 1-year
period, and in response to a direct request by the
consumer or such representative, continue the fraud
alert for an additional period of 1 year if the
information asserted in this paragraph remains
applicable.''; and
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``1-year'' before ``fraud
alert''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``any
request described in subparagraph (A)'' and
inserting ``the consumer reporting agency
includes the 1-year fraud alert in the file of
the consumer'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking
``Extended'' and inserting ``Seven-Year'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by striking ``5-year period
beginning on the date of such request''
and inserting ``the 7-year period
described in subparagraph (A)''; and
(II) by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(ii) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) by striking ``extended'' and
inserting ``7-year''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) upon the expiration of the 7-year period
described in subparagraph (A) or a subsequent 7-year
period, and in response to a direct request by the
consumer or such representative, continue the fraud
alert for an additional period of 7 years if the
consumer or such representative submits an updated
identity theft report.''; and
(C) in paragraph (2), by amending subparagraph (A)
to read as follows:
``(A) disclose to the consumer that the consumer
may request a free copy of the file of the consumer
pursuant to section 612(d) during each 12-month period
beginning on the date on which the 7-year fraud alert
was included in the file and ending on the date of the
last day that the 7-year fraud alert applies to the
file of the consumer; and'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3),
as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and
adjusting the margins accordingly;
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as so
redesignated, by striking ``Upon the direct request''
and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Upon the direct request''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Access to free reports.--If a consumer reporting
agency includes an active duty alert in the file of an active
duty military consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall--
``(A) disclose to the active duty military consumer
that the active duty military consumer may request a
free copy of the file of the active duty military
consumer pursuant to section 612(d), during each 12-
month period beginning on the date on which the
activity duty military alert is requested and ending on
the date of the last day that the active duty alert
applies to the file of the active duty military
consumer; and
``(B) not later than 3 business days after the date
on which the active duty military consumer makes a
request described in subparagraph (A), provide to the
active duty military consumer all disclosures required
to be made under section 609, without charge to the
active duty military consumer.'';
(4) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Procedures.--Each consumer reporting agency described in
section 603(p) shall establish and make available to the public on the
Internet website of the consumer reporting agency policies and
procedures to comply with this section, including policies and
procedures--
``(1) that inform consumers of the availability of 1-year
fraud alerts, 7-year fraud alerts, active duty alerts, and
credit freezes, as applicable;
``(2) that allow consumers to request 1-year fraud alerts,
7-year fraud alerts, and active duty alerts, as applicable, and
to place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze in
a simple and easy manner; and
``(3) for asserting in good faith a suspicion that the
consumer has been or is about to become a victim of identity
theft, fraud, or a related crime, or harmed by the unauthorized
disclosure of the financial or personally identifiable
information of the consumer, for a consumer seeking a 1-year
fraud alert or credit freeze.'';
(5) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``1-year or 7-year'' before ``fraud alert'';
(6) in subsection (f), by striking ``or active duty alert''
and inserting ``active duty alert, or credit freeze, as
applicable,'';
(7) in subsection (g)--
(A) by inserting ``or has been harmed by the
unauthorized disclosure of the financial or personally
identifiable information of the consumer,'' after
``identity theft,''; and
(B) by inserting ``or credit freezes'' after
``request alerts''; and
(8) in subsection (h)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``initial'' and inserting ``1-year'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``initial'' and inserting ``1-year''; and
(iii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking
``an initial'' and inserting ``a 1-year''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``extended'' and inserting ``7-year'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A), in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking ``extended''
and inserting ``7-year''; and
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``an
extended'' and inserting ``a 7-year''.
SEC. 4. PROVIDING FREE ACCESS TO CREDIT FREEZES.
Section 605A of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c-1)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Credit Freezes.--
``(1) In general.--Upon the direct request of a consumer,
or an individual acting on behalf of or as a personal
representative of a consumer, a consumer reporting agency that
maintains a file on the consumer and has received appropriate
proof of the identity of the requester (as described in section
1022.123 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor thereto) shall--
``(A)(i) not later than 1 business day after
receiving the request sent by postal mail, toll-free
telephone, or secure electronic means as established by
the agency, place a credit freeze on the file of the
consumer;
``(ii) not later than 5 business days after placing
a credit freeze described in clause (i), provide the
consumer with written confirmation of the credit freeze
and a unique personal identification number or password
(other than the social security number of the consumer)
for use to authorize the release of the file of the
consumer for a specific period of time; and
``(iii) disclose all relevant information to the
consumer relating to the procedures for temporarily
lifting and fully removing a credit freeze, including a
statement about the maximum amount of time given to an
agency to conduct those actions;
``(B) if the consumer provides a correct personal
identification number or password, temporarily lift an
existing credit freeze from the file of the consumer
for a period of time specified by the consumer for a
specific user or category of users, as determined by
the consumer--
``(i) not later than 1 business day after
receiving the request by postal mail; or
``(ii) not later than 15 minutes after
receiving the request by toll-free telephone
number or secure electronic means established
by the agency, if the request is received
during regular business hours, except if the
ability of the consumer reporting agency to
temporarily lift the credit freeze is prevented
by--
``(I) an act of God, including
earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, or
similar natural disaster or phenomenon,
or fire;
``(II) unauthorized or illegal acts
by a third party including terrorism,
sabotage, riot, vandalism, labor
strikes or disputes disrupting
operations, or a similar occurrence;
``(III) an operational
interruption, including electrical
failure, unanticipated delay in
equipment or replacement part delivery,
computer hardware or software failures
inhibiting response time, or a similar
disruption;
``(IV) governmental action,
including emergency orders or
regulations, judicial or law
enforcement action, or a similar
directive;
``(V) regularly scheduled
maintenance or updates to the systems
of the consumer reporting agency
occurring outside of normal business
hours; or
``(VI) commercially reasonable
maintenance of, or repair to, the
systems of the consumer reporting
agency that is unexpected or
unscheduled; or
``(C) if the consumer provides a correct personal
identification number or password, fully remove an
existing credit freeze from the file of the consumer
not later than 21 business days after receiving the
request by postal mail, toll-free telephone, or secure
electronic means established by the consumer reporting
agency.
``(2) No fee.--A consumer reporting agency may not charge a
consumer a fee to place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a
credit freeze.
``(3) Exclusion from third-party lists.--During the period
beginning on the date on which a consumer or a representative
of the consumer requests to place a credit freeze and ending
the date on which the consumer or representative requests to
fully remove a credit freeze, a consumer reporting agency shall
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 or that representative requests that the exclusion be
rescinded before end of the period.''.
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL FREE CONSUMER REPORT.
Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (f)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or subsection (h)'' after
``through (d)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Free Disclosures in Connection With Credit Freeze.--In
addition to the free annual disclosure required under subsection
(a)(1)(A), each consumer reporting agency that maintains a file on a
consumer who requests a credit freeze under section 605A(i) shall make
all disclosures pursuant to section 609 once during any 12-month period
without charge to the consumer if the consumer makes a request under
section 609.''.
SEC. 6. REFUNDS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``consumer'',
``consumer reporting agency'', and ``credit freeze'' have the meanings
given those terms in section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by section 2.
(b) Refunds.--With respect to any consumer who requested a credit
freeze from a consumer reporting agency during the period beginning on
September 7, 2017, and ending on the day before the date of enactment
of this Act, the consumer reporting agency--
(1) shall issue a refund to the consumer for any fees
charged to the consumer relating to the request for a credit
freeze; and
(2) may not impose a fee on the consumer to temporarily
lift or fully remove the credit freeze.
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