Expressing the sense of Congress that financial institutions and other entities should work proactively with their customers affected by the shutdown of the Federal Government who may be facing short-term financial hardship and long-term damage to their creditworthiness through no fault of their own.

H. Res. 77 In the House of Representatives, U. S., January 29, 2019. Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that— (1) financial institutions and other entities, such as landlords, consumer reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of consumer scores, should help consumers affected by any shutdown of the Federal Government, including the shutdown that began on De- cember 22, 2018; (2) even with the recent conclusion of the shutdown, the period of recovery has just begun and the negative impact the shutdown is having on millions of consumers and the U.S. economy is significant; for example, anal- ysis from S&P Global Ratings estimates that the U.S. economy has already lost more than $6 billion as of Jan- uary 25, 2019, and if the shutdown were to resume in a few weeks, the analysis suggests there would be a fur- ther reduction of real Gross Domestic Product by $1.2 billion each week the government is shutdown; 2 •HRES 77 EH (3) financial institutions and other companies, such as consumer reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of consumer scores, should provide op- portunities for consumers affected by any shutdown—in- cluding Federal employees, government contractors, small businesses, and other individuals—who are or will be facing financial distress to easily contact and alert them of their situation immediately; (4) affected consumers may face financial hardship and emotional distress in making timely payments on their debts, such as mortgages, student loans, car loans, credit cards, and other debt, as well as paying for rent, food, transportation, school and other basic necessities, due to the temporary delay or permanent loss of their income; (5) to provide quick relief to their affected cus- tomers or tenants, financial institutions and other enti- ties, such as landlords, respectively, should for the dura- tion of any shutdown, as well as for a reasonable period of time following a shutdown, consider waiving or reduc- ing penalty, late payment, and similar fees; ceasing evic- tions and foreclosures; and providing forbearance; (6) consumers affected by the shutdown, whose in- come are directly or indirectly dependent on the full op- eration of the Federal Government, may be experiencing 3 •HRES 77 EH financial and emotional stress through no fault of their own and their creditworthiness should not be impaired because of the shutdown; (7) financial institutions and other companies, such as consumer reporting agencies and companies engaged in the production of consumer scores, should take steps to prevent adverse information being reported and uti- lized in any manner that harms affected consumers, in- cluding by preventing modified credit arrangements in- tended to help consumers fulfill their financial obliga- tions from being reported to, and coded by, consumer re- porting agencies on a person’s credit report in a manner that hurts the creditworthiness of the affected con- sumers; (8) new products, services, or prudent workout ar- rangements designed to help affected consumers that are consistent with safe and sound lending practices are gen- erally in the long-term best interest of the financial insti- tution, the consumer, and the economy; (9) financial institutions should work proactively to identify their customers who have been affected by any shutdown and adopt flexible, prudent arrangements to help such customers meet their debt and other obliga- tions; and 4 •HRES 77 EH (10) prudent efforts to adopt flexible workout ar- rangements for affected consumers should not be subject to examiner criticism or negative examinations. Attest: Clerk.