Consumer Credit Control Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2685 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that a consumer authorize the release of certain information. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that a consumer authorize the release of certain information. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Credit Con- 4 trol Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. PERMISSIBLE PURPOSES OF REPORTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act 7 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 8 (1) in section 604 (15 U.S.C. 1681b)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2685 IS (A) by striking subsections (c) through (e) 1 and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS FOR FURNISHING CERTAIN CON- 3 SUMER REPORTS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 5 agency may furnish a consumer report for the fol- 6 lowing purposes only if the consumer reporting agen- 7 cy obtains affirmative informed consent of the con- 8 sumer to furnish the consumer report and the con- 9 sumer reporting agency verifies the identity of the 10 consumer by reviewing the proper identification re- 11 quired under section 610: 12 ‘‘(A) An extension of credit pursuant to 13 subsection (a)(3)(A). 14 ‘‘(B) The underwriting of insurance pursu- 15 ant to subsection (a)(3)(C). 16 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REPORTS; ELECTION.—After 17 the consumer reporting agency obtains affirmative 18 informed consent of the consumer and verifies the 19 identity of the consumer under paragraph (1), the 20 consumer reporting agency may continue to furnish 21 consumer reports solely for the purposes of review- 22 ing or collecting on an account described in subpara- 23 graphs (A) and (C) of subsection (a)(3). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2685 IS ‘‘(3) FURNISHING REPORTS IN CONNECTION 1 WITH CREDIT OR INSURANCE TRANSACTIONS THAT 2 ARE NOT INITIATED BY CONSUMER.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 4 agency may furnish a consumer report to a per- 5 son in connection with any credit or insurance 6 transaction under subparagraph (A) or (C) of 7 subsection (a)(3) that is not initiated by the 8 consumer only if— 9 ‘‘(i) the consumer reporting agency 10 obtains affirmative informed consent of the 11 consumer to furnish the consumer report 12 and the consumer reporting agency verifies 13 the identity of the consumer by reviewing 14 the proper identification required under 15 section 610; and 16 ‘‘(ii) the transaction consists of a firm 17 offer of credit or insurance. 18 ‘‘(B) ELECTION.—The consumer may elect 19 to— 20 ‘‘(i) have the consumer’s name and 21 addresses included in lists of names and 22 addresses provided by the consumer report- 23 ing agency pursuant to subparagraphs (A) 24 and (C) of subsection (a)(3) in connection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2685 IS with any credit or insurance transaction 1 that is not initiated by the consumer only 2 if— 3 ‘‘(I) the consumer reporting 4 agency obtains affirmative informed 5 consent of the consumer to furnish 6 the consumer report and the con- 7 sumer reporting agency verifies the 8 identity of the consumer by reviewing 9 the proper identification required 10 under section 610; and 11 ‘‘(II) the transaction consists of 12 a firm offer of credit or insurance; 13 and 14 ‘‘(ii) revoke at any time the election 15 pursuant to clause (i) to have the con- 16 sumer’s name and address included in lists 17 provided by a consumer reporting agency. 18 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION REGARDING INQUIR- 19 IES.—Except as provided in section 609(a)(5), 20 a consumer reporting agency shall not furnish 21 to any person a record of inquiries in connec- 22 tion with a credit or insurance transaction that 23 is not initiated by a consumer. 24 ‘‘(4) DISCLOSURES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2685 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person may not 1 procure a consumer report for any purpose pur- 2 suant to subparagraphs (D), (F), and (G) of 3 subsection (a)(3) unless— 4 ‘‘(i) a simple and easy to understand, 5 as defined in section 1022.54(b) of title 6 12, Code of Federal Regulations, as in ef- 7 fect on the date of enactment of the Con- 8 sumer Credit Control Act of 2019, disclo- 9 sure has been made to the consumer at 10 any time before the report is procured or 11 caused to be procured, that consists solely 12 of the disclosure and the opportunity to 13 provide the consent described in clause (ii), 14 that a consumer report may be obtained 15 for such purposes; and 16 ‘‘(ii) the person has obtained affirma- 17 tive informed consent of the consumer for 18 the procurement of the consumer report by 19 that person. 20 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATIONS.—The consent de- 21 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be pro- 22 vided on the disclosure described under sub- 23 paragraph (A)(i). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2685 IS ‘‘(5) RULE MAKING.—Not later than 270 days 1 after the date of enactment of the Consumer Credit 2 Control Act of 2019, the Director of the Bureau 3 shall promulgate regulations that— 4 ‘‘(A) implement this subsection; 5 ‘‘(B) establish a model form for the disclo- 6 sure document pursuant to paragraph (4); 7 ‘‘(C) permit consumers to provide affirma- 8 tive informed consent required by paragraph (1) 9 for a specific time period for multiple users for 10 the specified purpose during that time period; 11 ‘‘(D) require a consumer reporting agen- 12 cy— 13 ‘‘(i) to provide to each consumer a se- 14 cure, convenient, accessible, and cost-free 15 method, including by toll-free telephone or 16 secure electronic means, by which a con- 17 sumer may— 18 ‘‘(I) provide or revoke any af- 19 firmative informed consent pursuant 20 to this subsection; and 21 ‘‘(II) make or revoke any election 22 pursuant to paragraph (3)(B); 23 ‘‘(ii) to implement any provision or 24 revocation of affirmative informed consent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2685 IS pursuant to this subsection not later than 1 1 business day after the date on which a 2 consumer provides or revokes affirmative 3 informed consent; and 4 ‘‘(iii) to implement any election or 5 revocation of any election pursuant to 6 paragraph (3)(B) not later than 1 business 7 day after the date on which a consumer 8 makes or revokes an election; and 9 ‘‘(E) define what constitutes affirmed in- 10 formative consent in the manner that provides 11 the greatest protection to consumers. 12 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITIONS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The method described 14 in paragraph (5)(D) shall not be used to— 15 ‘‘(i) collect any information on a con- 16 sumer that is not necessary for the pur- 17 pose of the consumer to allow or disallow 18 the furnishing of consumer reports; or 19 ‘‘(ii) advertise any product or service. 20 ‘‘(B) NO WAIVER.—In the offering of a 21 method described in paragraph (5)(D), a con- 22 sumer reporting agency shall not require a con- 23 sumer to waive any rights nor indemnify the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2685 IS consumer reporting agency from any liabilities 1 arising from the offering of such method. 2 ‘‘(7) REPORTS.— 3 ‘‘(A) CFPB.— 4 ‘‘(i) RECOMMENDATION.—Not later 5 than 270 days after the date of enactment 6 of the Consumer Credit Control Act of 7 2019, the Director of the Bureau shall, 8 after consultation with the Federal Deposit 9 Insurance Corporation, the National Credit 10 Union Administration, the Consumer Advi- 11 sory Board, and other Federal and State 12 regulators as the Director of the Bureau 13 determines are appropriate, submit to the 14 Committee on Banking, Housing, and 15 Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 16 mittee on Financial Services of the House 17 of Representatives recommendations on 18 how to provide consumers greater trans- 19 parency and personal control over their 20 consumer reports furnished for permissible 21 purposes under subsections (a)(3)(E) and 22 (a)(6). 23 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—The Director of the 24 Bureau shall submit to the Committee on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2685 IS Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 1 the Senate and the Committee on Finan- 2 cial Services of the House of Representa- 3 tives an annual report that includes— 4 ‘‘(I) recommendations on how 5 this subsection may be improved; 6 ‘‘(II) a description of efforts to 7 educate consumers of their rights 8 under this subsection; 9 ‘‘(III) a description of enforce- 10 ment actions taken to demonstrate 11 compliance with this subsection; 12 ‘‘(IV) recommendations on how 13 to improve oversight of consumer re- 14 porting agencies and users of con- 15 sumer reports; and 16 ‘‘(V) any other recommendations 17 concerning how consumers may be 18 provided greater transparency and 19 control over their personal informa- 20 tion. 21 ‘‘(B) GAO.— 22 ‘‘(i) STUDY.—The Comptroller Gen- 23 eral of the United States shall conduct a 24 study on what additional protections or re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2685 IS strictions may be needed to ensure that the 1 information collected in consumer files is 2 secure and does not adversely impact con- 3 sumers. 4 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 5 after the date of enactment of the Con- 6 sumer Credit Control Act of 2019, the 7 Comptroller General of the United States 8 shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 9 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 10 and the Committee on Financial Services 11 of the House of Representatives a report 12 on the results of the study under clause 13 (i), which shall include— 14 ‘‘(I) to the greatest extent pos- 15 sible, the presentation of unambiguous 16 conclusions and specific recommenda- 17 tions for further legislative changes 18 needed to ensure that the information 19 collected in consumer files is secure 20 and does not adversely impact con- 21 sumers; and 22 ‘‘(II) if no recommendations for 23 further legislative changes are pre- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2685 IS sented, a detailed explanation of why 1 no such changes are recommended.’’; 2 (B) by redesignating subsections (f) and 3 (g) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(f) NO FEES.—No consumer reporting agency may 6 charge a consumer any fee for any activity pursuant to 7 or as a result of this section.’’; 8 (2) in section 607(a) (15 U.S.C. 1681e(a))— 9 (A) in the third sentence, by striking 10 ‘‘make a reasonable effort’’ and inserting ‘‘use 11 commercially reasonable efforts’’; and 12 (B) by inserting ‘‘Every consumer report- 13 ing agency shall use commercially reasonable ef- 14 forts to avoid unauthorized access to consumer 15 reports and information in the file of a con- 16 sumer maintained by the consumer reporting 17 agency, including complying with any appro- 18 priate standards established under section 19 501(b) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 20 U.S.C. 6801(b)).’’ after the end of the third 21 sentence; 22 (3) in section 609 (15 U.S.C. 1681g), by strik- 23 ing subsection (b) and inserting the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2685 IS ‘‘(b) SCOPE OF DISCLOSURE.—The Director of the 1 Bureau shall promulgate regulations to clarify that any 2 disclosure required by subsection (a) shall be made to the 3 consumer when a consumer makes a request, irrespective 4 of whether the information required to be disclosed is held 5 by the parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of a consumer re- 6 porting agency.’’; and 7 (4) in section 610(a)(1) (15 U.S.C. 8 1681h(a)(1))— 9 (A) by inserting ‘‘, implementing the provi- 10 sion or revocation of any affirmative informed 11 consent, or implementing any election or rev- 12 ocation of any election’’ after ‘‘disclosures’’; and 13 (B) by striking ‘‘section 609’’ and insert- 14 ing ‘‘sections 604 and 609’’. 15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 16 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) 17 is amended— 18 (1) in section 603(d)(3) (15 U.S.C. 19 1681a(d)(3)), in the matter preceding subparagraph 20 (A), by striking ‘‘604(g)(3)’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘604(e)(3)’’; 22 (2) in section 605A (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1)— 23 (A) by striking subsections (i) and (j); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2685.IS S2685 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2685 IS (B) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub- 1 section (i); 2 (3) in section 615(d) (15 U.S.C. 1681m(d))— 3 (A) in paragraph (1)— 4 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 5 graph (A), by striking ‘‘604(c)(1)(B)’’ and 6 inserting ‘‘604(c)(3)(A)(ii)’’; and 7 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 8 ‘‘604(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘604(c)(5)(D)’’; 9 and 10 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 11 ‘‘604(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘604(c)(5)(D)’’; and 12 (4) in section 625(b)(1) (15 U.S.C. 13 1681t(b)(1))— 14 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 15 section (c) or (e) of section 604’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘604(c)(3)’’; 17 (B) in subparagraph (I), by adding ‘‘or’’ at 18 the end; 19 (C) by striking subparagraph (J); and 20 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (K) as 21 subparagraph (J). 22 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub- 23 sections (a) and (b) shall apply to a consumer report, as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Oct 26, 2019 [Text truncated for display. 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