[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 170 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12471-H12472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL HEROES CREDIT PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 513) to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to enhance 
the protection of credit ratings of active duty military personnel who 
are activated for military service, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 513

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

        This Act may be cited as the ``National Heroes Credit 
     Protection Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CREDIT RATINGS OF MEMBERS OF THE 
                   RESERVE COMPONENTS DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF 
                   CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Title II of the Servicemembers Civil 
     Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 521 et seq.) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 208. PROTECTION OF CREDIT RATINGS OF MEMBERS OF 
                   RESERVE COMPONENTS DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF 
                   CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS.

       ``(a) Request for Military Service Deployment 
     Explanation.--At any time during or after serving on active 
     duty in support of a contingency operation, an eligible 
     servicemember may request that a consumer reporting agency 
     include a military service deployment explanation with 
     respect to a qualifying account in the file of that 
     servicemember at the consumer reporting agency.
       ``(b) Responsibilities of Consumer Reporting Agencies.--
     Upon receiving a request from an eligible servicemember under 
     subsection (a), a consumer reporting agency shall--
       ``(1) include a military service deployment explanation 
     with respect to a qualifying account in the file of that 
     servicemember and provide the military service deployment 
     explanation to each person who requests the credit score or 
     consumer report of the servicemember;
       ``(2) develop and maintain procedures for the referral to 
     other such agencies of any military service deployment 
     explanation received by the agency; and
       ``(3) notify the servicemember in writing that the 
     inclusion of any explanation or notation in the file of the 
     servicemember could potentially negatively affect the credit 
     rating of the servicemember and may not mitigate a low credit 
     score.
       ``(c) Duty of Reseller to Reconvey Military Service 
     Deployment Explanation.--A reseller shall include in any 
     report of the reseller on a servicemember any military 
     service deployment explanation placed in the file of that 
     servicemember by another consumer reporting agency pursuant 
     to this section.
       ``(d) Acknowledgment of Military Service Deployment 
     Explanation.--Any prospective user of a consumer credit 
     report containing a military service deployment explanation 
     shall acknowledge such military service deployment 
     explanation.
       ``(e) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
       ``(1) The term `eligible servicemember' means a member of a 
     reserve component who serves on active duty outside the 
     continental United States in support of a contingency 
     operation under a call or order specifying a period of such 
     service of not less than 180 days (or who enters such service 
     under a call or order specifying a period of 180 days or less 
     and who, without a break in service, receives orders 
     extending the period of such service to a period of not less 
     than 180 days).
       ``(2) The term `military service deployment explanation' 
     means a code generated by a consumer reporting agency that is 
     delivered in conjunction with a consumer report or credit 
     score to a user of the consumer report or credit score to 
     indicate that the consumer report or credit score of the 
     consumer was adversely affected during a period in which the 
     consumer was a servicemember serving on active duty outside 
     the continental United States in support of a contingency 
     operation.
       ``(3) The term `contingency operation' has the meaning 
     given that term under section 101(a)(13) of title 10, United 
     States Code.
       ``(4) The term `active duty' has the meaning given that 
     term under section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code.
       ``(5) The term `consumer reporting agency' has the meaning 
     given that term under section 603 of the Fair Credit 
     Reporting Act.
       ``(6) The term `reseller' has the meaning given that term 
     under section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
       ``(7) The term `qualifying account' means an account that 
     was opened by a servicemember before the date on which the 
     servicemember was deployed outside the continental United 
     States in support of a contingency operation, but only with 
     respect to obligations incurred before such date.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item 
     relating to section 207 the following new item:

``Sec. 208. Protection of credit ratings of certain servicemembers.''.

       (c) Military Service Deployment Explanation Not to Affect 
     Certain Future Transactions.--Section 108 of such Act (50 
     U.S.C. App. 518) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph 
     (1), by inserting after ``liability of that servicemember'' 
     the following: ``, or the inclusion of a military service 
     deployment explanation in a file of the servicemember at a 
     consumer reporting agency pursuant to section 208,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As we approach Veterans Day in another week, it is important that we, 
as Members of the House, not just give our speeches and ride in the 
parades on Veterans Day but we actually do things that will help our 
veterans, say thank you for their service, and make sure they get the 
benefits that are due them when they return home, and that they also 
avoid pitfalls that come about because they are serving their Nation 
abroad. There are many examples of this, and we are going to correct a 
few today.
  The first and most important, I think, is to assure that when our 
service men and women are abroad, when they are in active duty, that 
they do not face credit problems as a result of that duty if they miss 
some payments on bills back home. Our colleague, Mr. Brady from 
Philadelphia, chairman also of our House Administration Committee, has 
looked at this problem and has come up with a solution.
  Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 513, as amended.
  I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, Congressman Robert 
Brady of Pennsylvania, for crafting this important bill to help protect 
our Nations veterans. I'd also like to thank the Subcommittee on 
Economic Opportunity Chairwoman, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and Ranking 
Member John Boozman for the strong bipartisan leadership they 
demonstrated in working on this legislation.
  When called to duty, servicemembers across our Nation leave their 
loved ones, school, and work behind.
  Unfortunately as we are witnessing today, some of these 
servicemembers are returning to letters of delinquency from credit 
lenders and credit bureaus due to their extended military service 
abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, we must honor our servicemembers' sacrifice by providing 
them with the resources and financial security needed to protect what 
they have left behind, so that they may have the peace of mind that 
their financial interests are protected while serving our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, a credit score impacts all aspects of your 
life. It represents you as a consumer and indicates to the potential 
lender if you are trustworthy of repaying your debt. It also determines 
whether you will qualify for a good interest for a home loan, buying a 
car, or even school loans.
  H.R. 513, as amended, would protect these men and women while they 
are at war, by providing an explanation in their credit report. This 
explanation would be generated by a consumer reporting agency, and 
delivered in conjunction with a consumer report or credit score.
  It will indicate in the consumer report, or credit score, that the 
consumer was adversely affected during a period in which the 
servicemember was on active duty outside the continental United States 
in support of a contingency operation.

[[Page H12472]]

  To qualify, a person would have to be a member of the National Guard 
or Reserve, have the account open prior to deployment, and served a 
specifying period of service of no less than 180 days. By including a 
military service deployment explanation, any person who requests the 
credit score or consumer report of the servicemember will be informed 
of a potential reason of non-payment or missed payments.
  Currently, there is no credit protection offered to the men and women 
in the National Guard and Reserve.
  Furthermore, this legislation alleviates the servicemembers' concerns 
over negative financial implications of their deployment.
  Regardless of your view on the war, we all stand united in caring for 
our veterans. I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 
513, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) to explain how this bill will help our 
active duty forces when they return home.
  (Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  I rise in support of H.R. 513, the National Heroes Credit Protection 
Act.
  Just after the start of the Iraq war, I met a lady who served in 
Operation Desert Storm. This young lady told me that problems in 
notifying her creditors of deployment had almost cost her to lose her 
home. Her problems are all too common. This simple piece of legislation 
was written with those heroes in mind.
  H.R. 513 would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to require 
credit reporting agencies, when asked, to include a notation in a 
consumer report or credit score for reserved members of the U.S. Armed 
Forces when they are called up or deployed. The bill would also require 
consumer reporting agencies to refer the explanations to other consumer 
reporting agencies.
  More than 300,000 guardsmen and reservists have been called up since 
September 11. They are doing more missions and activations with fewer 
personnel. They shouldn't have to worry about protecting their credit 
while they're keeping us safe.
  This bill is revenue neutral. CBO estimates that it would have no 
significant effect on the Federal budget and minimal costs to the 
private sector. My staff have discussed this report with 
representatives of the credit and credit reporting agencies. They have 
been helpful in suggesting ways to improve the bill's protection for 
our troops and support the purpose and intent of the measure.
  This legislation protects creditors by continuing to require 
repayment of a soldier's debts, but it provides important new 
protections for our troops by making it easier for them to take 
advantage of rights they already have.
  I know that Chairman Filner and Chairwoman Herseth Sandlin have 
worked closely with the minority on their committee, and we are happy 
to include provisions suggested by the minority. I want to thank them 
as well as Ranking Members Buyer and Boozman.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill will make a major difference in the lives of 
our heroes and their families. I urge all my colleagues to support the 
National Heroes Credit Protection Act.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I think we've talked about this bill, and 
it's a very good bill. I thought I might take from my colleagues and 
just read the summary of it just to remind ourselves that H.R. 513 is 
to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to enhance the protection 
of credit ratings of active duty military personnel who are activated 
for military service.
  And the question usually comes up on some of these bills, what do 
they cost. Mr. Brady, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, talked about 
that. So we have a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate that I 
would share with my colleagues, and it says, ``The requirements imposed 
on credit reporting agencies would be private sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the UMRA. CBO suspects the 
cost of the mandates would be minimal and unlikely to exceed the 
threshold for private sector mandates established in the UMRA.''
  So, I think we have a bill that we can all support. So, obviously on 
this side, we do support it.
  The bill, as amended, will improve the protections of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by providing the opportunity for 
certain servicemembers experiencing financial difficulties, while 
deployed, to simply request that their credit record be annotated to 
reflect simply that deployment. It also requires the credit industry to 
take such deployment into consideration.
  This new protection, my colleagues, would cover credit accounts 
opened before the servicemember was deployed. While these protections 
are important, it is also critical that Members understand that such an 
annotation may have adverse effects on their credit rating, despite all 
the existing laws prohibiting such actions. Therefore, my colleagues, 
the bill also requires the National Credit Bureau to inform applicants 
of that potential in writing.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I think that, in terms of its strong support for 
veterans, and in their case, when they're deployed, I urge support for 
the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this war in Iraq has involved our National Guard and 
Reserve units to an extent that has never before been the case. And 
many of our laws simply do not reflect the new force structure that you 
see in Iraq. And that is what we, as a committee, are working to 
change. For example, the National Guard and Reserve units, even if they 
are in active duty, as they are in Iraq, are not eligible for the same 
benefits from the GI Bill as our active duty troops. We are going to 
change that. We are going to change a number of things. And I thank Mr. 
Brady, the gentleman from Philadelphia, for making sure that the Guard 
and Reserve groups have the protections in law that our active duty 
troops already have. We must protect their jobs, their credit ratings, 
and their quality of life as they are away from home in active duty 
supporting our Nation.
  The laws have not kept up with this force structure. This is one of 
the ways that we're going to change that. So we're going to make sure 
that when they come home, they are recognized and not penalized for 
their active duty.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 513, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ruppersberger). Is there objection to 
the request of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 513, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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