[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 49 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Pages 1746-1748]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Signing the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003

December 4, 2003

    Thank you all for coming. Please be seated. Thanks. Good morning, 
everybody. Thanks for coming to the Roosevelt Room. Today we're taking 
important steps to ensure that all Americans of every income and 
background have fair access to credit.
    For our economy, reliable access to credit and capital is essential 
to growth and prosperity. For individuals, a chance to get ahead and to 
make a better life often depends on building credit. So many decisions, 
like buying a home or financing a car or owning a small business, are 
made easier by good credit. The bill I'm about to sign will help make 
sure that hard-working, law-abiding citizens are treated fairly when 
they apply for credit.
    This bill also confronts the problem of identity theft. A growing 
number of Americans are victimized by criminals who assume their 
identities and cause havoc in their financial affairs. With this 
legislation, the Federal Government is protecting our citizens by taking 
the offensive against identity theft.
    I appreciate the fact that I'm joined up here by the Secretary of 
the Treasury, John Snow, and Tim Muris, who is the Chairman of the 
Federal Trade Commission. Muris is responsible for writing the 
regulations to make sure that the intention of the Congress is met.
    And speaking about the Congress, I want to thank the Members of the 
Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, who are here to join in the 
bill signing, good, honorable Members who have worked hard to protect 
our citizens. I appreciate Senator Paul Sarbanes for joining us today. 
I'm honored that Senator Bob Bennett has joined us as well, as well as 
Maria Cantwell and Elizabeth Dole. Thank you, Senators, for coming. 
Thanks for your good work on this. I also want to thank Richard Shelby 
for his good work. He's not with us today, but Shelby gets some credit. 
[Laughter] From the House--[laughter]--Congressman Oxley--I appreciate 
you, Mr. Chairman--Paul Gillmor, Spencer Bachus--thanks for coming, 
Spence. I appreciate you sponsoring this piece of legislation. Steve 
LaTourette and Darlene Hooley are here. Thank you all for coming.
    Again, I want to again congratulate the Congress for working on this 
important piece of legislation and exceeding expectations, I

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might add. At least you've exceeded the expectations of the 
administration on this bill. [Laughter]
    The legislation, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
2003, carries forward the progress this Nation has made in recent years 
to help qualified Americans get fair access to credit. Before 1996, 
there were no uniform rules on borrower information and credit reports. 
Lenders did not always have consistent and full information about 
potential borrowers. Lenders too often made broad assumptions and 
decisions about categories of people rather than looking at individuals 
and their personal credit histories.
    Too often, lenders assumed the worst. And therefore, people with 
lower incomes and immigrants with little or no credit history, people 
who lived in certain neighborhoods had a more difficult time getting 
affordable loans. And that's not fair, and it's not right, and it does 
not reflect the spirit of this country.
    And so the Congress wisely acted. In 1996, Congress set uniform 
national standards on credit reporting. Credit histories are now more 
complete and thorough, and the lending process is fairer. Many Americans 
have been able to obtain loans that they would not have had otherwise, 
and that's important. According to estimates, over the last 7 years, 
more than 1 million men and women have obtained new or refinanced 
mortgages that would have been denied if there had not been a fair 
national standard.
    One of them is here today. I appreciate Shonelle Blake coming. She's 
got the toughest job in America. She's a single mom. She has two 4-year-
olds, mom of twins. I know something about twins. [Laughter] In the 
early 1990s, Shonelle set herself two goals--she set high goals. One was 
to buy a house, and the other was to start a business. She made sure her 
credit was in order. She went to the HOPE Center in Los Angeles--I know 
something about there since I've been there myself--to help get a 
downpayment on a home. One year later, she got another loan to start her 
own insurance business.
    Shonelle is building a life of independence and success, in part 
because a loan was given to her based on her own merit. Because we had a 
national standard, she was able to get a loan. Because Congress did the 
right thing in 1996, this entrepreneur and mother was able to realize a 
dream. The national credit standards that help ensure that the lenders 
considered each applicant on her merits are what made the loan possible.
    John Bryant, who's with us--and it's good to see you again, John--of 
Operation HOPE, he's what we call a social entrepreneur, by the way. 
[Laughter] He has heard the call to help people like Shonelle realize 
her dreams--said this: He said, ``Shonelle would have been rejected. She 
wouldn't have been a homeowner, and she wouldn't have been a 
businessowner.'' That's what John said. And so the fair standards are 
important. The national standard was an important act that you all did, 
and I want to thank you for working on it in 1996.
    See, the bill I sign today will make the national fair credit 
standards permanent. Those standards were set to expire, the '96--the 
good of the '96 act was going away. And then the Congress stepped up and 
acted for the sake of the Shonelles of the world. And now the credit 
standards are a permanent part of the legislative history of the 
country. And I want to thank you for that. It's the right thing to do, 
and I appreciate your leadership. See, we're ensuring that lenders make 
decisions based upon the full and fair credit histories of each person 
and not on the categories that can lead to discrimination.
    And as we help people gain access to credit, we're strengthening the 
protections that help consumers build and keep a good credit history. 
That good record is ruined when criminals steal identities and run up 
purchases under stolen names. Like other forms of stealing, identity 
theft leaves the victim feeling terribly violated, and undoing the 
damage caused by identity theft can take months.
    Michael Berry is with us today. Thank you for coming, Michael. In 
January of 2002, Michael was applying for a credit line increase. He'd 
always paid his bills in a timely manner. He's a good citizen. But his 
application was rejected. They told him that he had taken out too many 
credit cards recently. It came as quite a surprise to Michael, since it 
wasn't true. He discovered that someone had stolen his financial 
identity. He made countless calls

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to credit bureaus and tracked down credit card purchases he had not 
made. He even found the address of the person who had taken out the 
cards. He closed the credit card accounts as fast as he could, but 
applications for more credit in his name were being made every day. And 
many were getting approved. He had to call every credit card company to 
get each card canceled before it was issued.
    Nearly 2 years later, Michael is still fighting the effects of the 
fraud. The system was broken. Michael is living testimony to what I'm 
saying when I said the system was broken, and Congress acted. I want to 
thank you all for stepping up and doing the right thing here.
    See, in an age when information about individuals can be found 
easily, sold easily, abused easily, Government must act to protect 
individual privacy. And with this new law, we're taking action. First, 
under this law, we're giving every consumer the right to get a copy of 
his or her credit report free of charge every year. That's important. 
The credit report is more than a record of past actions; it has great 
influence over a person's financial future. People should be able to 
check their credit report for accuracy and to challenge any errors. The 
bill does just that.
    Second, this law will help prevent identity theft before it occurs, 
by requiring merchants to delete all but the last five digits of a 
credit card number on store receipts. Many restaurants and merchants 
have already adopted this practice. All will now do so.
    Won't they, Tim? [Laughter] Just making sure he was awake. 
[Laughter]
    Chairman Muris. Always. [Laughter]
    The President. Slips of paper that most people throw away should not 
hold the key to their savings and financial secrets.
    Third, this law will create a national system of fraud detection so 
that identity theft can be traced and dealt with earlier. Up to now, 
victims of identity theft have been left to manage the problem 
themselves--ask Michael--by calling all their credit card companies to 
shut down each of their accounts. And then the victims must call each of 
the three major credit rating agencies to report the crime and to 
protect their credit rating. Under this legislation, victims will only 
have to make one phone call to receive advice and to set off a 
nationwide fraud alert. It's an important reform. I appreciate you all 
for putting this into law. Credit bureaus will then take immediate 
measures to protect the consumer's credit standing.
    And fourth, this law will encourage lenders and credit agencies to 
take action before a victim even knows an identity crime has occurred. 
In many cases, identity thieves follow predictable patterns. Bank 
regulators working with credit agencies will draw up guidelines to 
identify these patterns and develop methods to stop identity theft 
before it ever happens.
    These practical steps will help consumers protect their credit and 
their good name. People work hard to build up good credit histories and 
rely on their credit to move forward in life. Today we're helping to 
make our credit system fair, fair to all, and to better protect those--
better protect people from those who would abuse it.
    I'm pleased to sign into law the Fair and Accurate Credit 
Transactions Act of 2003, a good, solid piece of legislation.

Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to John Bryant, chairman and chief 
executive officer, Operation HOPE, Inc. H.R. 2622, approved December 4, 
was assigned Public Law No. 108-159.