Shutdown Guidance for Financial Institutions Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2290 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs AN ACT To require the Federal financial regulators to issue guidance encouraging financial institutions to work with con- sumers and businesses affected by a Federal Government shutdown, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 2290 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shutdown Guidance 2 for Financial Institutions Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. SHUTDOWN GUIDANCE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITU- 4 TIONS. 5 (a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than the end of the 180- 6 day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 7 the Federal financial regulators shall, jointly, in consulta- 8 tion with State banking regulators and other appropriate 9 Federal and State agencies, issue shutdown guidance to 10 the financial institutions they regulate encouraging the fi- 11 nancial institutions to— 12 (1) work with consumers and businesses af- 13 fected by a shutdown; 14 (2) recognize that consumers and businesses af- 15 fected by a shutdown may lose access to credit and 16 face temporary hardship in making payments on 17 debts such as mortgages, student loans, car loans, 18 business loans, or credit cards; 19 (3) consider prudent efforts to modify terms on 20 existing loans or extend new credit to help con- 21 sumers and businesses affected by a shutdown, con- 22 sistent with safe-and-sound lending practices; and 23 (4) take steps to prevent adverse information 24 being reported in a manner that harms consumers 25 affected by a shutdown, including by preventing 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 2290 RFS modified credit arrangements intended to help con- 1 sumers fulfill their financial obligations from being 2 reported to, and coded by, consumer reporting agen- 3 cies on a consumer’s credit report in a manner that 4 hurts the creditworthiness of the consumer. 5 (b) NOTICE OF GUIDANCE DURING A SHUTDOWN.— 6 Not later than the end of the 24-hour period beginning 7 at the start of a shutdown, the Federal financial regu- 8 lators shall, jointly, issue a press release to alert financial 9 institutions, consumers, and businesses to the existence, 10 and content, of the guidance issued pursuant to subsection 11 (a). 12 (c) POST-SHUTDOWN REPORT TO CONGRESS AND 13 UPDATED GUIDANCE.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end of 15 the 90-day period beginning on the date a shutdown 16 ends, the Federal financial regulators shall, jointly, 17 issue a report to Congress containing an analysis of 18 the effectiveness of the guidance issued pursuant to 19 subsection (a). 20 (2) UPDATED GUIDANCE.—Not later than the 21 end of the 180-day period beginning on the date a 22 report is issued under paragraph (1), the Federal fi- 23 nancial regulators shall update the guidance re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 2290 RFS quired under subsection (a) if any shortcomings are 1 identified in such report. 2 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) CONSUMERS AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.— 4 The term ‘‘consumers affected by a shutdown’’ 5 means an individual who is an employee of— 6 (A) the Federal Government, and who is 7 furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 8 the shutdown; 9 (B) the District of Columbia, and who is 10 not receiving pay because of the shutdown; or 11 (C) a Federal contractor (as defined under 12 section 7101 of title 41, United States Code) or 13 other business, and who has experienced a sub- 14 stantial reduction in pay due to the shutdown. 15 (2) CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES AFFECTED 16 BY A SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘‘consumers and busi- 17 nesses affected by a shutdown’’ means— 18 (A) a consumer affected by a shutdown; 19 and 20 (B) a Federal contractor (as defined under 21 section 7101 of title 41, United States Code) or 22 other business that has experienced a substan- 23 tial reduction in income due to the shutdown. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 2290 RFS (3) FEDERAL FINANCIAL REGULATORS.—The 1 term ‘‘Federal financial regulators’’ means the 2 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 3 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the 4 Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit 5 Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit 6 Union Administration. 7 (4) SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘‘shutdown’’ means 8 any period in which there is more than a 24-hour 9 lapse in appropriations as a result of a failure to 10 enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing res- 11 olution. 12 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 13 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 14 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 15 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 16 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 17 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 18 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 2290 RFS provided that such statement has been submitted prior to 1 the vote on passage. 2 Passed the House of Representatives September 19, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.RFS H2290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS