[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 77 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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H. Res. 77

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      January 29, 2019.
    Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) financial institutions and other entities, such as landlords, 
        consumer reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of 
        consumer scores, should help consumers affected by any shutdown of the 
        Federal Government, including the shutdown that began on December 22, 
        2018;
            (2) even with the recent conclusion of the shutdown, the period of 
        recovery has just begun and the negative impact the shutdown is having 
        on millions of consumers and the U.S. economy is significant; for 
        example, analysis from S&P Global Ratings estimates that the U.S. 
        economy has already lost more than $6 billion as of January 25, 2019, 
        and if the shutdown were to resume in a few weeks, the analysis suggests 
        there would be a further reduction of real Gross Domestic Product by 
        $1.2 billion each week the government is shutdown;
            (3) financial institutions and other companies, such as consumer 
        reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of consumer 
        scores, should provide opportunities for consumers affected by any 
        shutdown--including Federal employees, government contractors, small 
        businesses, and other individuals--who are or will be facing financial 
        distress to easily contact and alert them of their situation 
        immediately;
            (4) affected consumers may face financial hardship and emotional 
        distress in making timely payments on their debts, such as mortgages, 
        student loans, car loans, credit cards, and other debt, as well as 
        paying for rent, food, transportation, school and other basic 
        necessities, due to the temporary delay or permanent loss of their 
        income;
            (5) to provide quick relief to their affected customers or tenants, 
        financial institutions and other entities, such as landlords, 
        respectively, should for the duration of any shutdown, as well as for a 
        reasonable period of time following a shutdown, consider waiving or 
        reducing penalty, late payment, and similar fees; ceasing evictions and 
        foreclosures; and providing forbearance;
            (6) consumers affected by the shutdown, whose income are directly or 
        indirectly dependent on the full operation of the Federal Government, 
        may be experiencing financial and emotional stress through no fault of 
        their own and their creditworthiness should not be impaired because of 
        the shutdown;
            (7) financial institutions and other companies, such as consumer 
        reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of consumer 
        scores, should take steps to prevent adverse information being reported 
        and utilized in any manner that harms affected consumers, including by 
        preventing modified credit arrangements intended to help consumers 
        fulfill their financial obligations from being reported to, and coded 
        by, consumer reporting agencies on a person's credit report in a manner 
        that hurts the creditworthiness of the affected consumers;
            (8) new products, services, or prudent workout arrangements designed 
        to help affected consumers that are consistent with safe and sound 
        lending practices are generally in the long-term best interest of the 
        financial institution, the consumer, and the economy;
            (9) financial institutions should work proactively to identify their 
        customers who have been affected by any shutdown and adopt flexible, 
        prudent arrangements to help such customers meet their debt and other 
        obligations; and
            (10) prudent efforts to adopt flexible workout arrangements for 
        affected consumers should not be subject to examiner criticism or 
        negative examinations.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.