Shutdown Guidance for Financial Institutions Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2919 To require the Federal financial regulators to issue guidance encouraging financial institutions to work with consumers and businesses affected by a Federal Government shutdown, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 20, 2019 Mr. VAN HOLLEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shutdown Guidance 4 for Financial Institutions Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SHUTDOWN GUIDANCE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITU- 6 TIONS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2919.IS S2919 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2919 IS (1) CONSUMER AFFECTED BY A SHUTDOWN.— 1 The term ‘‘consumer affected by a shutdown’’ means 2 an individual who is an employee of— 3 (A) the Federal Government, and who is 4 furloughed or excepted from a furlough during 5 a shutdown; 6 (B) the District of Columbia, and who is 7 not receiving pay because of a shutdown; or 8 (C) a Federal contractor or other business, 9 and who has experienced a substantial reduc- 10 tion in pay due to the shutdown. 11 (2) CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES AFFECTED 12 BY A SHUTDOWN.—The term ‘‘consumers and busi- 13 nesses affected by a shutdown’’ means— 14 (A) a consumer affected by a shutdown; 15 and 16 (B) a Federal contractor (as defined under 17 section 7101 of title 41, United States Code) or 18 other business that has experienced a substan- 19 tial reduction in income due to the shutdown. 20 (3) FEDERAL CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘Fed- 21 eral contractor’’ has the meaning given the term 22 ‘‘contractor’’ in section 7101 of title 41, United 23 States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2919.IS S2919 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2919 IS (4) 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 (5) 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 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than the end of the 180- 13 day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, 14 the Federal financial regulators jointly, in consultation 15 with State banking regulators and other appropriate Fed- 16 eral and State agencies, shall issue shutdown guidance to 17 the financial institutions they regulate encouraging the fi- 18 nancial institutions to— 19 (1) work with consumers and businesses af- 20 fected by a shutdown; 21 (2) recognize that consumers and businesses af- 22 fected by a shutdown may lose access to credit and 23 face temporary hardship in making payments on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2919.IS S2919 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2919 IS debts such as mortgages, student loans, car loans, 1 business loans, or credit cards; 2 (3) consider prudent efforts to modify terms on 3 existing loans or extend new credit to help con- 4 sumers and businesses affected by a shutdown, con- 5 sistent with safe-and-sound lending practices; and 6 (4) take steps to prevent adverse information 7 being reported in a manner that harms consumers 8 affected by a shutdown, including by preventing 9 modified credit arrangements intended to help con- 10 sumers fulfill their financial obligations from being 11 reported to, and coded by, consumer reporting agen- 12 cies on a consumer report in a manner that hurts 13 the creditworthiness of the consumer. 14 (c) NOTICE OF GUIDANCE DURING A SHUTDOWN.— 15 Not later than the end of the 24-hour period beginning 16 at the start of a shutdown, the Federal financial regu- 17 lators jointly shall issue a press release to alert financial 18 institutions, consumers, and businesses to the existence 19 and content of the guidance issued under to subsection 20 (b). 21 (d) POST-SHUTDOWN REPORT TO CONGRESS AND 22 UPDATED GUIDANCE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end of 24 the 90-day period beginning on the date on which a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2919.IS S2919 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2919 IS shutdown ends, the Federal financial regulators 1 jointly shall submit to Congress a report that con- 2 tains an analysis of the effectiveness of the guidance 3 issued pursuant to subsection (b). 4 (2) UPDATED GUIDANCE.—Not later than the 5 end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on 6 which a report is issued under paragraph (1), the 7 Federal financial regulators shall update the guid- 8 ance required under subsection (b) if any short- 9 comings are identified in the report. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2919.IS S2919 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS