Press Releases

Today, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a Subcommittee on Financial Institutions hearing, led by Subcommittee Chairman Andy Barr (KY-06), to examine the consumer credit reporting market and the importance of accurate credit reports for risk management and access to credit.

Read Subcommittee Chairman Barr's opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

"I want to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today, and I look forward to a constructive discussion on access to credit and the future of our credit reporting system.

"Access to credit is fundamental to economic mobility. It is the foundation that provides families the opportunity to buy homes. It gives Main Street small businesses leverage to grow. And it provides individuals the flexibility to manage through both opportunity and hardship.

"At the center of that system is the Fair Credit Reporting Act—a law that, for decades, has aimed to balance two core objectives: consumer protection and enabling the responsible flow of reliable information that lenders rely on to provide credit.

"For decades, that balance has helped create one of the most robust and accessible credit markets in the world. But today that balance is being tested.

"We’re seeing increasing pressure to weaken the completeness of credit reporting – whether by removing entire categories of debt or by promoting reporting systems that only consider positive information. Let’s be clear: a credit reporting system that ignores real obligations is not more fair; it’s simply less accurate. And when accuracy suffers, access to credit suffers with it.

"Lenders rely on a full picture of risk. If that picture is incomplete, they don’t simply absorb more risk without consequence– they pull back, raise prices, or both. That ultimately hurts the very consumers these proposals claim to help. It also threatens the safety and soundness of our financial institutions, who no longer understand the risks on their balance sheet.

"At the same time, the system is facing growing strain from another direction: the rise in questionable and duplicative complaints in the CFPB’s consumer complaint database.

"Consumer protections are essential and dispute mechanisms are a cornerstone of the Fair Credit Reporting Act – ensuring the accuracy that is the center of our robust consumer reporting system.

"But when furnishers and consumer reporting agencies are flooded with frivolous or even fraudulent submissions, it undermines their credibility, slows down the resolution of legitimate claims, and increases costs across the system.

"If we want these tools to work for consumers, they must be rooted in accountability and good faith. Strengthening the integrity of the CFPB’s consumer complaint database as my Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database Act would do is not about limiting consumer rights – it’s about preserving them.

"We also should be focused on expanding opportunities in ways that are consistent with safety and soundness. Millions of Americans are credit invisible not because they lack fiscal responsibility, but because the system doesn’t fully capture it.

"Responsible use of additional data – like rent, telecom, and utility payments – can help bring more people into the financial system without distorting risk.

"I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this right."

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