McHenry Proposes New Solution to Protect American Families’ Sensitive Information and Access to Credit
Washington,
July 19, 2019 -
WASHINGTON – Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), introduced new legislation to address glaring issues within the credit reporting industry, which endanger the security of Americans’ most personal information and impede access to credit.
H.R. 3821 includes several reforms to thoroughly and appropriately supervise credit reporting agencies, ensuring accurate and transparent credit files and the protection of personally identifiable information.
Ranking Member McHenry offered these pro-consumer reforms as an amendment to the Democrats’ partisan credit reporting legislation recently considered by the Committee. However, Committee Democrats chose not to accept Republican suggestions and instead passed bills that will ultimately harm consumers by driving up the cost of credit and weakening Americans’ ability to receive loans.
“The credit reporting industry is ripe for reform,” said Ranking Member McHenry. “Credit reporting agencies have failed to protect consumers’ most sensitive, personal information and have been allowed to operate as an oligopoly. While Republicans and Democrats agree it’s time for change, my colleagues across the aisle have taken a one-sided approach, which will ultimately decrease Americans’ access to credit. Instead, my legislation combines bipartisan solutions that provide thoughtful oversight and examination of this industry, helping achieve our goal: protecting American families.”
Specifically, H.R. 3821:
- Addresses the inefficient process used by credit reporting agencies for a parent to request a security freeze of their child’s credit.
- Ensures a consumer found to have been impacted by predatory mortgage or student lending or financial abuse, as determined by a court of law or through a settlement agreement, will have the negative information removed from his or her consumer report.
- Removes all paid, non-elective medical debt from a consumer’s credit report to help those who have been impacted by illnesses.
- Prevents credit reporting agencies from using Social Security numbers for verification purposes.
- Grants the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) authority to oversee the cybersecurity efforts of the credit reporting agencies.
