Fair Credit Reporting Act Amendments of 2001

Fair Credit Reporting Act Amendments of 2001 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to mandate that, upon consumer request, a consumer reporting agency: (1) furnish an annual credit report free of charge; and (2) disclose credit risk scores or other predictors contained in the consumer's file, including the factors and relative weights taken into account, and the extent to which such factors raise or lower the score or predictor. (Currently such scores are exempted from disclosure.)

Prohibits the inclusion of certain small debts in a consumer report under specified circumstances.

Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission to: (1) monitor and review the extent to which consumer reporting agencies and purveyors of information to such agencies comply with FCRA requirements for the prompt investigation of matters in dispute and the prompt correction of inaccurate or incomplete information, or information that cannot be verified; and (2) present a progress report to Congress.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1176 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1176

 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect consumers from the 
   adverse consequences of incomplete and inaccurate consumer credit 
                    reports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2001

   Mr. Ford introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect consumers from the 
   adverse consequences of incomplete and inaccurate consumer credit 
                    reports, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Credit Reporting Act Amendments 
of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FREE CREDIT REPORT ANNUALLY UPON REQUEST OF CONSUMER.

    (a) Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(c) Free Credit Report Annually Upon Request of Consumer.--Upon 
the request of any consumer, each consumer reporting agency shall make 
all disclosures pursuant to section 609 without charge to such consumer 
at least once each calendar year.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 612(a)(1) of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)(1)) is amended by 
striking ``(c), and (d)'' and inserting ``(c), (d), and (e)''.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF WORLD WIDE WEB SITE.

    Section 609(c)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681(c)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting ``and information sufficient to 
allow the consumer to contact the agency, or request a consumer report 
relating to the consumer from the agency, through the Internet or the 
World Wide Web'' before the period at the end.

SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES AND EXPLANATION OF CREDIT SCORES.

    Section 609(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681g(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) All information in the consumer's file at the time of 
        the request, including any information concerning credit scores 
        or any other risk scores or predictors relating to the 
        consumer, together with--
                    ``(A) a clear and concise summary of how the scores 
                and predictors are derived;
                    ``(B) the factors taken into account in deriving a 
                score or predictor;
                    ``(C) how such factors are applied to the consumer;
                    ``(D) the relative weight given to each factor; and
                    ``(E) the manner and extent to which such factors 
                raise or lower the score or predictor.''

SEC. 5. SHORTER PERIOD FOR INCLUSION OF SMALL DEBTS UNDER CERTAIN 
              CIRCUMSTANCES.

    Section 605(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681c(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), any account placed for 
        collection or charged to profit and loss in which the amount 
        placed to collection or charged to profit and loss did not 
        exceed $100 and which antedates the report by more than 3 
        years, if--
                    ``(A) the consumer to whom the report relates 
                completed a credit and financial management class 
                during such 3-year period; and
                    ``(B) the consumer has not previously had an 
                account excluded from paragraph (4) by virtue of this 
                paragraph.''.

SEC. 6. PROMPT INVESTIGATION AND CORRECTION OR DELETION OF INACCURATE, 
              INCOMPLETE, OR UNVERIFIABLE CONSUMER INFORMATION.

    (A) Review and Monitoring Required.--The Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission shall each 
review and monitor the extent to which, and the manner in which, 
consumer reporting agencies and furnishers of consumer information to 
consumer reporting agencies are complying with the procedures, time 
lines, and requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the 
prompt investigation of the disputed accuracy of any consumer 
information and the prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with 
such Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or information 
that cannot be verified.
    (b) Report Required.--Before the end of the 6-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade 
Commission shall each submit a progress report to the Congress on the 
results of the review required under subsection (a).
    (c) Recommendations.--The report under subsection (b) shall include 
such recommendations as the Board and the Commission determine to be 
appropriate for legislative or administrative action to ensure that--
            (1) consumer disputes with consumer reporting agencies over 
        the accuracy or completeness of information in a consumer's 
        file are promptly and fully investigated and any incorrect, 
        incomplete, or unverifiable information is immediately 
        corrected or deleted;
            (2) furnishers of information to consumer reporting 
        agencies maintain full and prompt compliance with the duties 
        and responsibilities established under section 623 of the Fair 
        Credit Reporting Act; and
            (3) consumer reporting agencies establish and maintain 
        appropriate internal controls and management review procedures 
        for maintaining full and continuous compliance with the 
        procedures, time lines, and requirements under the Fair Credit 
        Reporting Act for the prompt investigation of the disputed 
        accuracy of any consumer information and the prompt correction 
        or deletion, in accordance with such Act, of any inaccurate or 
        incomplete information or information that cannot be verified.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the terms 
``consumer'', ``consumer report'', and ``consumer reporting agency'' 
have the same meaning as in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect at the end of the 
90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>