[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 159 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13980-S13994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003--
Resumed
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will read
S. 1753 for the third time.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Banking
Committee is discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2622, and
the clerk will state the bill by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 2622) 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.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all after the
enacting clause is stricken and the text of S. 1753, as amended, is
inserted in lieu thereof.
The clerk will read the bill for the third time.
The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read the
third time.
The bill was read the third time.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I have decided to vote against the
National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act because,
bottom line, this bill reduces the privacy rights of 36 million
Californians.
These rights were obtained through the passage of landmark
legislation sponsored by Senator Jackie Speier earlier this year in
California, which gave consumers the right to tell financial
institutions that they don't want their most sensitive personal
information shared with hundreds or even thousands of affiliated
companies.
This practice--affiliate sharing--can include your most sensitive
information--the stocks you own, the certificates of deposit you hold,
or the amount of money in your checking account.
Importantly, California's financial industry signed off on Senator
Speier's bill, rather than face a ballot initiative, which likely would
have succeeded.
Industry executives said at the time that the California bill
``encompasses all aspects of the workability needed to ensure
protection of customers' privacy'' and that it is ``a workable,
reasonable compromise.'' In fact, the only major reservation expressed
about that provision was that the bill did not represent a national
standard. But now, given the opportunity to set such a national
standard, these same companies worked to wipe out such protections--and
I find this conduct particularly concerning. Attached is a letter from
Senator Speier that attests to the behavior of California's financial
industry.
So in response to calls for a national standard and to protect the
rights of Californians, Senator Boxer and I developed an amendment that
would have established a strong national standard on affiliate sharing,
consistent with California's law, which would have given consumers a
real voice in how their personal information is used.
This amendment came up for a vote and, unfortunately, it was
defeated. I think time will show that this was the wrong vote, and I
have no doubt that this issue will resurface as consumers learn more
about the misuse of their most sensitive personal information.
I am disappointed that we did not achieve our main goal of adopting
an amendment which would allow consumers to have control over their
personal data, but I am pleased that the Senate approved two
amendments, which I sponsored along with Senator Boxer, to protect
consumers.
The first amendment, authorized by Senator Boxer, which I
cosponsored, would give consumers greater protection against unwanted
marketing.
Most importantly, the amendment would allow consumers to permanently
opt-out of marketing by unrelated affiliates, while the underlying bill
would have only limited the opt-out to 5 years. This means that if a
consumer asks a corporation not to share information with its
affiliates for the purpose of marketing, the affiliate cannot solicit
them--forever. Without this amendment, a consumer would have been
required to go back to the corporation and reiterate his request after
5 years.
Additionally, this amendment clarified what the bill meant by a
``pre-existing business relationship'', where there was no definition
before. With this amendment, a company's affiliate would only be able
to market to consumers who have:
One, purchased, rented or leased the seller's goods or services or
completed a financial transaction between the consumer and seller,
within the 18 months immediately preceding the date of a solicitation;
or
Two, inquired about or applied for a product or service offered by
the seller, within the 3 months immediately preceding the marketing
contact.
Without this clarification, companies might have been able to market
to customers who purchased goods as many as 5 or 10 years earlier, or
who made the mildest inquiry a few years ago. It is the same definition
developed by the Federal Trade Commission in creating a national ``Do
Not Call'' registry for telemarketers.
The Senate also adopted a second amendment, which I authored and was
cosponsored by Senators Boxer and Kennedy, that essentially provided a
far more encompassing definition of medical information than is
contained in current law.
Simply put, this amendment will help ensure that consumers aren't
discriminated against based on their medical or health information when
they apply for credit, insurance, or employment. The amendment also has
the support of the American Medical Association, the American Cancer
Society, and the California Medical Association.
The Feinstein amendment would broadly expand the definition of
``medical information'' to read:
Information or data except age or gender, whether oral or
recorded in any form or medium, created by or derived from a
health care provider or the consumer that relates to:
(1) The past, present or future physical, mental or
behavioral health or condition of an individual;
(2) The provision of health care to an individual; or
(3) Payment for the provision of health care to an
individual.
This is the same definition of medical information established by the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2002. This
definition has been implemented in a vast majority of our states.
Even with these modest amendments, however, I cannot support the
reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Boxer-Feinstein marketing amendment will help prevent consumers
from receiving unwanted solicitation, but it will do nothing to limit
[[Page S13981]]
the ability of companies to share information with their affiliates.
Affiliates, therefore, will continue to be able to use personal
information to profile consumers in a way that leads to unfair
increases in premiums or interest rates, to giving certain consumers
inferior service, or to outrightly deny them credit cards, insurance
policies, or other products.
Furthermore, the bill will do nothing to stop the creation of
``internal credit reports'' by large financial institutions. Unlike
with traditional credit reports, consumers will continue to have no
ability to access or correct errors in these documents.
Most Americans consider their personal information their private
property. Yet, this bill will continue to deprive ordinary American
consumers from having any choice over how their information is shared
in the business world. This is the fundamental issue.
To give you a sense of the deep support for privacy, I would point to
a survey of California voters completed on February 7 of this year.
The statewide survey found that by a 91-to-7 percent margin,
California voters would favor a ballot proposition that ``would require
a bank, a credit card company, insurance company, or other financial
institution to notify a customer and receive a customer's permission
before selling any financial information to any separate financial or
non-financial company.''
This means that 9 out of 10 Californians support even stronger
protections--where companies would have to gain your prior consent--
opt-in--to share your financial data--than the amendment which Senator
Boxer and I offered. And polls across the country reflected similar
levels of support by Americans for stronger privacy laws.
This only underscores the need for strong federal standards. Clearly,
businesses should be able to manage customer information in order to
enhance services. But there must be strong rules that protect
consumers. That is why Congress should have given consumers a choice--
allowing them to tall companies that they don't want their most
personal information shared.
So despite the fact that I support efforts in this legislation to
combat identity theft and improve consumer access to credit report
information, I believe that the bill doesn't do enough to protect
consumer's privacy, and that is why I am voting against it.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter from Senator
Jackie Speier be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
California State Senate,
Sacramento, CA, October 24, 2003.
Hon. Dianne Feinstein,
U.S. Senator, California,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Barbara Boxer,
U.S. Senator, California,
Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Feinstein and Boxer: I wish to thank you for
your efforts on behalf of consumer privacy rights, and urge
you continue to do all that is possible to protect
California's hard-fought consumer privacy gains.
It has recently come to my attention that the financial
services industry has been criticizing the contents of your
amendment to S. 1753, substituting the newly-enacted and
stronger California privacy standard on affiliate sharing in
the ``corporate family of companies,'' as unworkable and
unreasonable. This same industry recently called my
California bill ``workable and reasonable,'' specifically
removing their opposition to my measure and lavishing praise
on it, even helping to gather votes. Industry made it clear
that my bill met their workability concerns, progress made
with their active participation. If my bill was workable for
industry in California, then why shouldn't it be the national
standard? A transcript of their August 14, 2003, public
comments bear this out and is attached.
One industry representative stood with me on that day and
said my bill ``encompasses all aspects of the workability
needed to ensure protection of customers' privacy,'' while
another called it ``a balanced measure that will provide
meaningful privacy protections to consumers while also
addressing the workability concerns'' that industry had. Now
the story is different, as industry sees a political
opportunity to preempt California's standard on affiliate
sharing with a weaker one.
The financial services industry appears to be acting in bad
faith--it seems willing to say and do anything to erode
California's recent progress on behalf of consumers, first to
avoid a costly initiative battle and local ordinances
limiting third-party sharing, now to pull the wool over
Congress' eyes. Does the financial services industry really
believe that millions of American consumers don't deserve a
choice over what happens when their personal financial
information, their financial DNA, is shared with thousands of
affiliated companies? The industry's position is flawed
public policy, weaker than their own standards abroad, and
the kind of business practice that erodes consumer
confidence.
I urge you to continue your efforts in making California's
privacy standards those of the nation. California's affiliate
standard was good enough for the financial industry two
months ago; it certainly is acceptable now. Thank you again
for your efforts; I stand ready to help you in any way
possible.
All the best,
Jackie Speier,
California State Senator.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my strong support for
S. 1753, the National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act
of 2003. I would like to commend both Chairman Shelby and Ranking
Member Sarbanes on this legislation and the thoroughness of the
hearings which preceded this legislation. I applaud their deep
commitment and thank them for their strong leadership on this issue.
This legislation is not perfect. It is not the bill that I would have
written. Nor do I believe that this legislation represents a perfect
bill from the perspective of the chairman or ranking member. However, I
believe that it is a bipartisan bill that does a lot of very good
things, and was put together in a very balanced manner.
The Banking Committee, both during the hearing process and the mark-
up of this legislation examined the numerous issues surrounding the
Fair Credit Reporting Act: accuracy, privacy, security, financial
literacy, among others.
We learned some critical information during this process. I believe
that the hearing process shed significant light on the positives of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act and gave us insight on how to enhance its
effectiveness. The consumer credit system is critically important to
our nation's economy, and this legislation attempts to balance the
greater access to credit for consumers, more efficiency in the credit
granting process and the needs of consumers to have greater accuracy
and privacy protections.
Numerous witnesses testified to the need to improve accuracy in the
credit reporting process. Concerns were raised that currently the
critical information that is used in the credit granting process is not
as timely and accurate as is necessary. Accurate credit reporting is
essential to the proper functioning of our credit system and to the
financial security of American consumers. Also, consumers must have a
clearly articulated remedy for correcting errors when they do occur.
Additionally, consumers must be given greater knowledge and control
over their personal financial information. The hearing on affiliate
sharing shed light on current practices and the positives and negatives
associated with those practices.
The committee heard from numerous witnesses that consumers were not
provided with the tools necessary to fully understand the credit
reporting process and become adept to using it to their maximum
advantage. Financial literacy is not a one time event--it is a long
process--educating more and more Americans as they become consumers.
Of special concern, we learned about the epidemic of identity theft.
Identity theft is a growing problem affecting millions of Americans and
that we must devote our full attention to increasing the security of
financial information. We heard from a witness named John Harrison, a
retired Army Captain from Connecticut who was the victim of identity
theft. His credit reports clearly contained false information--
misinformation that was planted there by a criminal--but Captain
Harrison has had--and continues to have--enormous difficulty restoring
his credit worthiness.
These are just some of the lessons regarding the current operation of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
This legislation addresses many, if not all, of the concerns raised
throughout the six hearings conducted by the committee.
This legislation strengthens consumers' ability to control both their
personal financial and medical information. I have long supported the
need to improve the privacy rights of consumers with respect to
genetic, medical, and financial information. I am a cosponsor of
legislation which would
[[Page S13982]]
provide greater choices for consumers to prevent sharing of information
between affiliates and unaffiliated third parties. While this
legislation does not go far enough to completely protect consumers, I
believe it is an important step in the right direction.
This legislation provides consumers with the ability to prohibit
affiliates from using their personal financial information for
solicitations and other marketing purposes. In addition, an important
amendment was adopted on the floor to provide consumers with additional
protections against the misuse of sensitive medical information. It
also contains important provisions that will significantly enhance
consumer protections against the growing problem of identify theft.
Additionally, it grants consumers with access to one free credit
report per year from the credit reporting bureaus. This access will
allow consumers to monitor the accuracy of the information contained in
their credit files and ensure that information resulting from identity
theft does not end up destroying their financial reputation.
And by providing consumers with a free credit report, and access to
the information used by creditors to judge their creditworthiness, this
bill equips consumers with the tools to competitively shop for sources
of financing and will lead consumers to make better informed and more
judicious, credit-related decisions.
I believe that we can do more to give consumers better control over
their personal information and how financial institutions share their
information with their affiliates, for marketing as well as other
purposes. This legislation is an important step in the right direction.
Irrespective of any changes that I, or others, may wish to raise with
regard to S. 1753, there is no doubt that this legislation
significantly improves the current privacy and accuracy standards of
our consumer credit reporting system.
Again, I would like to thank Senators Sarbanes and Shelby and their
staffs for their hard work on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to
support S. 1753.
Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a
sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? There is 1 minute remaining
on each side.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I yield myself 1 minute or less. We are
getting ready to vote on the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We were able
yesterday to move it to where we are today. We believe we have put
together a bipartisan bill. We expect a heavy vote on both sides of the
aisle. It is a complicated piece of legislation.
I commend Senator Sarbanes, my colleague and the ranking Democrat,
for his leadership in helping us to get where we are today.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this is the legislation we spent all day
yesterday on. We worked through the issues, I think, in a reasonable
and collegial fashion and the measure is now before us for final
passage. I thank the chairman of the committee for his many courtesies.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the
question is, Shall the bill pass?
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
Edwards), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and the Senator
from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``aye.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 2, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 437 Leg.]
YEAS--95
Akaka
Alexander
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carper
Chafee
Chambliss
Clinton
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Cornyn
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Dodd
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham (FL)
Graham (SC)
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Sununu
Talent
Thomas
Voinovich
Warner
Wyden
NAYS--2
Boxer
Feinstein
NOT VOTING--3
Edwards
Kerry
Lieberman
The bill (H.R. 2622), as amended, was passed, as follows:
H.R. 2622
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives
(H.R. 2622) entitled ``An Act to amend the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, to prevent identity theft, improve resolution
of consumer disputes, improve the accuracy of consumer
records, make improvements in the use of, and consumer access
to, credit information, and for other purposes.'', do pass
with the following amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
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.
Sec. 116. Authority to truncate social security numbers.
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.
Sec. 216. Disposal of consumer report information and records.
TITLE III--ENHANCING THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION
Sec. 311. Risk-based pricing notice.
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.
[[Page S13983]]
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 described in subparagraph
(A) or (B) by any person requesting such consumer report.
``(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) Credit and Creditor--The terms `credit' and
`creditor' have the same meanings as in section 702 of the
Equal Credit Opportunity 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
[[Page S13984]]
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 Federal Trade 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;
``(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; and
``(C) prescribe regulations requiring each financial
institution and each other person that is a creditor or other
user of a consumer report to notify the Federal Trade
Commission (and any other agency or person that such
rulemaking agency determines appropriate) in any case in
which there has been, or is reasonably believed to have been
unauthorized access to computerized or physical records which
compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of
consumer information maintained by or on behalf of that
entity, except that such regulations shall not apply to a
good faith acquisition of information by an employee or agent
of such entity for a business purpose of that entity, if the
information is not subject to further unauthorized access.
``(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''.
SEC. 116. AUTHORITY TO TRUNCATE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.
Section 609(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``except that
nothing'' and inserting the following: ``except that--
``(A) if the consumer to whom the file relates requests
that the first 5 digits of the social security number (or
similar identification number) of the consumer not be
included in the disclosure and the consumer reporting agency
has received appropriate proof of the identity of the
requester, the consumer reporting agency shall so truncate
such number in such disclosure; and
``(B) nothing''.
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 prescribe the
form and content of a 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.
[[Page S13985]]
``(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 Federal Trade
Commission under paragraph (1) and information on how to
contact the Commission to obtain more detailed information.
``(e) Information Available to Victims.--
``(1) In general.--For the purpose of documenting
fraudulent transactions resulting from identity theft, not
later than 20 days after the date of receipt of a request
from a victim in accordance with paragraph (3), and subject
to verification of the identity of the victim and the claim
of identity theft in accordance with paragraph (2), a
business entity that has provided credit to, provided for
consideration products, goods, or services to, accepted
payment from, or otherwise entered into a commercial
transaction for consideration with, a person who has
allegedly made unauthorized use of the means of
identification of the victim, shall provide a copy of
application and business transaction records in the control
of the business entity, whether maintained by the business
entity or by another person on behalf of the business entity,
evidencing any transaction alleged to be a result of identity
theft to--
``(A) the victim;
``(B) any Federal, State, or local governing law
enforcement agency or officer specified by the victim in such
a request; or
``(C) any law enforcement agency investigating the identity
theft and authorized by the victim to take receipt of records
provided under this subsection.
``(2) Verification of identity and claim.--Before a
business entity provides any information under paragraph (1),
unless the business entity, at its discretion, is otherwise
able to verify the identity of the victim making a request
under paragraph (1), the victim shall provide to the business
entity--
``(A) as proof of positive identification of the victim, at
the election of the business entity--
``(i) the presentation of a government-issued
identification card;
``(ii) personally identifying information of the same type
as was provided to the business entity by the unauthorized
person; or
``(iii) personally identifying information that the
business entity typically requests from new applicants or for
new transactions, at the time of the victim's request for
information, including any documentation described in clauses
(i) and (ii); and
``(B) as proof of a claim of identity theft, at the
election of the business entity--
``(i) a copy of a police report evidencing the claim of the
victim of identity theft; and
``(ii) a properly completed--
``(I) copy of a standardized affidavit of identity theft
developed and made available by the Federal Trade Commission;
or
``(II) an affidavit of fact that is acceptable to the
business entity for that purpose.
``(3) Procedures.--The request of a victim under paragraph
(1) shall--
``(A) be in writing; and
``(B) be mailed to an address specified by the business
entity, if any.
``(4) No charge to victim.--Information required to be
provided under paragraph (1) shall be so provided without
charge.
``(5) Authority to decline to provide information.--A
business entity may decline to provide information under
paragraph (1) if, in the exercise of good faith, the business
entity determines that--
``(A) this subsection does not require disclosure of the
information;
``(B) the request for the information is based on a
misrepresentation of fact by the individual requesting the
information relevant to the request for information; or
``(C) the information requested is Internet navigational
data or similar information about a person's visit to a
website or online service.
``(6) Limitation on liability.--Except as provided in
section 621, sections 616 and 617 do not apply to any
violation of this subsection.
``(7) No new recordkeeping obligation.--Nothing in this
subsection creates an obligation on the part of a business
entity to obtain, retain, or maintain information or records
that are not otherwise required to be obtained, retained, or
maintained in the ordinary course of its business or under
other applicable law.
``(8) Rule of construction.--
``(A) In general.--No provision of Federal or State law
(except a law involving the nondisclosure of information
related to a pending Federal criminal investigation)
prohibiting the disclosure of financial information by a
business entity to third parties shall be used to deny
disclosure of information to the victim under this
subsection.
``(B) Limitation.--Except as provided in subparagraph (A),
nothing in this subsection permits a business entity to
disclose information, including information to law
enforcement under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1),
that the business entity is otherwise prohibited from
disclosing under any other applicable provision of Federal or
State law.
``(9) Affirmative defense.--In any civil action brought to
enforce this subsection, it is an affirmative defense (which
the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the
evidence) for a business entity to file an affidavit or
answer stating that--
``(A) the business entity has made a reasonably diligent
search of its available business records; and
``(B) the records requested under this subsection do not
exist or are not available.
``(10) Definition of victim.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `victim' means a consumer whose means of
identification or financial information has been used or
transferred (or has been alleged to have been used or
transferred) without the authority of that consumer, with the
intent to commit, or to aid or abet, identity theft or any
other violation of law.''.
(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 Federal Trade 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
[[Page S13986]]
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 Federal Trade 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 that it receives from a consumer reporting
agency under section 605B relating to information resulting
from identity theft, to prevent that person from refurnishing
such blocked 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) 5 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.--
[[Page S13987]]
``(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 Federal
Trade 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 Federal Trade 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:
``(f) 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)(B) of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)(B)), as so
designated by section 116, 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
[[Page S13988]]
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 (f) 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;
``(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; or''.
(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 such 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 such
solicitations, and may allow the consumer to choose from
different options when electing to prohibit the sending of
such 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 a consumer pursuant to
paragraph (1)(B) to prohibit the sending of solicitations
shall be effective permanently, beginning on the date on
which the person receives the election of the consumer,
unless the consumer requests that such election be revoked.
``(4) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
`pre-existing business relationship' means a relationship
between a person and a consumer, based on--
``(A) the purchase, rental, or lease by the consumer of
that person's goods or services, or a financial transaction
between the consumer and that person during the 18-month
period immediately preceding the date on which the consumer
receives the notice required under this section; or
``(B) an inquiry or application by the consumer regarding a
product or service offered by that person, during the 3-month
period immediately preceding the date on which the consumer
receives the notice required under this section.
``(5) 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 Federal Trade 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;
[[Page S13989]]
(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 Federal Trade 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.
SEC. 216. DISPOSAL OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION AND
RECORDS.
(a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681m) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 627. Disposal of records
``(a) Regulations.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the Federal Trade Commission shall
issue final regulations requiring any person that maintains
or otherwise possesses consumer information or any
compilation of consumer information derived from consumer
reports for a business purpose to properly dispose of any
such information or compilation.
``(2) Exemption authority.--In issuing regulations under
this section, the Federal Trade Commission may exempt any
person or class of persons from application of those
regulations, as the Commission deems appropriate to carry out
the purpose of this section.
``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to alter or affect any requirement imposed under
any other provision of law to maintain any record.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by
this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``627. Disposal of records.''.
TITLE III--ENHANCING THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION
SEC. 311. RISK-BASED PRICING NOTICE.
(a) Duties of Users.--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:
``(j) Duties of Users in Certain Credit Transactions.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to rules prescribed as provided
in paragraph (5), if any person uses a consumer report in
connection with a grant, extension, or other provision of
credit on material terms that are materially less favorable
than the most favorable terms available to a substantial
proportion of consumers from or through that person, based in
whole or in part on a consumer report, the person shall
provide a notice to the consumer in the form and manner
required by regulations prescribed in accordance with this
subsection.
``(2) Exceptions.--No notice shall be required from a
person under this subsection if--
``(A) the consumer applied for specific material terms and
was granted those terms, unless those terms were initially
specified by the person after the transaction was initiated
by the consumer and after the person obtained a consumer
report; or
``(B) the person has provided or will provide a notice to
the consumer under subsection (a) in connection with the
transaction.
``(3) Other notice not sufficient.--A person that is
required to provide a notice under subsection (a) cannot meet
that requirement by providing a notice under this subsection.
``(4) Content and delivery of notice.--A notice under this
subsection shall include, at a minimum--
``(A) a statement informing the consumer that the terms
offered to the consumer were set based on information from a
consumer report;
``(B) identification of the consumer reporting agency that
furnished that report;
``(C) a statement informing the consumer that the consumer
may obtain a copy of a consumer report from that consumer
reporting agency without charge; and
``(D) the contact information specified by that consumer
reporting agency for obtaining such consumer reports
(including a toll-free telephone number established by the
agency in the case of a consumer reporting agency described
in section 603(p)).
``(5) Rulemaking.--
``(A) Rules required.--The Federal Trade Commission and the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall
jointly prescribe rules, in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code, to carry out this subsection.
``(B) Content.--Rules required by subparagraph (A) shall
address, but are not limited to--
``(i) the form, content, time, and manner of delivery of
any notice under this subsection;
``(ii) clarification of the meaning of terms used in this
subsection, including what credit terms are material, and
when credit terms are materially less favorable;
``(iii) exceptions to the notice requirement under this
subsection for classes of persons or transactions regarding
which the agencies determine that notice would not
significantly benefit consumers; and
``(iv) a model notice that may be used to comply with this
subsection.''.
(b) Relation to State Laws.--Section 625(b)(1) of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1), regarding
relation to State laws), as so designated and amended by this
Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(I) section 615(j), relating to the duties of users of
consumer reports to provide notice with respect to terms in
certain credit transactions;''.
[[Page S13990]]
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--
(1) by striking ``A person'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--A person'';
(2) by inserting ``date of delinquency on the account,
which shall be the'' before ``month'';
(3) by inserting ``on the account'' before ``that
immediately preceded''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Rule of construction.--For purposes of this paragraph
only, and provided that the consumer does not dispute the
information, a person that furnishes information on a
delinquent account that is placed for collection, charged for
profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action, complies
with this paragraph, if--
``(i) the person reports the same date of delinquency as
that provided by the creditor to which the account was owed
at the time at which the commencement of the delinquency
occurred, if the creditor previously reported that date of
delinquency to a consumer reporting agency;
``(ii) the creditor did not previously report the date of
delinquency to a consumer reporting agency, and the person
establishes and follows reasonable procedures to obtain the
date of delinquency from the creditor or another reliable
source and reports that date as the date of delinquency; or
``(iii) the creditor did not previously report the date of
delinquency to a consumer reporting agency and the date of
delinquency cannot be reasonably obtained as provided in
clause (ii), the person establishes and follows reasonable
procedures to ensure the date reported as the date of
delinquency precedes the date on which the account is placed
for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subjected to
any similar action, and reports such date to the credit
reporting agency.''.
(c) Liability and Enforcement.--
(1) Civil liability.--Section 623 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2) is amended by striking
subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the following:
``(c) Limitation on Liability.--Except as provided in
section 621(c)(1)(B), sections 616 and 617 do not apply to
any violation of--
``(1) subsection (a) of this section;
``(2) subsection (e) of this section, except that nothing
in this paragraph shall limit, expand, or otherwise affect
liability under section 616 or 617, as applicable, for
violations of subsection (b) of this section;
``(3) subsection (e) or (f) of section 615; or
``(4) subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(2) of this section
that is based on the development of procedures required by
that subparagraph, except that refurnishing information
otherwise in violation of subsection (b) shall be subject to
liability under sections 616 and 617, as applicable, to the
same extent as such a refurnishing violation was subject to
such liability on the day before the date of enactment of the
National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act of
2003.
``(d) Limitation on Enforcement.--The provisions of law
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c)
(other than with respect to the exceptions described in
paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (c)) shall be enforced
exclusively as provided under section 621 by the Federal
agencies and officials and the State officials identified in
section 621.''.
(2) State actions.--Section 621(c) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(c)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``of section
623(a)'' and inserting ``described in any of paragraphs (1)
through (4) of section 623(c) (other than with respect to the
exception described in paragraph (4) of section 623(c))'';
and
(B) in paragraph (5)--
(i) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B), by inserting
after ``section 623(a)(1)'' each place that term appears the
following: ``or a violation described in any of paragraphs
(2) through (4) of section 623(c) (other than with respect to
the exception described in paragraph (4) of section
623(c))''; and
(ii) by amending the paragraph heading to read as follows:
``(5) Limitations on state actions for certain
violations.--''.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section, the
amendments made by this section, or any other provision of
this Act shall be construed to affect any liability under
section 616 or 617 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681n, 1681o) that existed on the day before the date
of enactment of this Act.
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
Federal Trade 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 Federal Trade 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 Federal Trade 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.--The Federal Trade Commission shall
submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives an annual report regarding
information gathered by the Commission under 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
[[Page S13991]]
(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 modified or 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--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
and
(2) 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 Federal Trade 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 Federal Trade 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
[[Page S13992]]
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 Federal Trade 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 the information is
medical information, including information that is an
individualized list or description based on the payment
transactions of the consumer for medical products or
services, or an aggregate list of identified consumers based
on payment transactions for medical products or services.
(c) Definition.--Section 603(i) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(i)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(i) Medical Information.--The term `medical information'
means information or data, other than age or gender, whether
oral or recorded, in any form or medium, created by or
derived from a health care provider or the consumer, that
relates to--
``(1) the past, present, or future physical, mental, or
behavioral health or condition of an individual;
``(2) the provision of health care to an individual; or
``(3) the payment for the provision of health care to an
individual.''.
(d) 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
Federal Trade 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
[[Page S13993]]
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
[[Page S13994]]
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.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. BENNETT. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate insists
on its amendments, requests a conference with the House on the
disagreeing votes of the two Houses, and the Chair is authorized to
appoint the following conferees:
The Presiding Officer appointed Mr. Shelby, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Allard,
Mr. Enzi, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Johnson, conferees on the
part of the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, S. 1753 is returned
to the calendar.
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