Bill Details
S.656 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-20 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Introduced Date
2025-02-20
Policy Area
Finance and Financial Sector
Committees
View committees (1)
Cosponsors
6
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would protect the credit records of Americans who were wrongly detained overseas or held hostage abroad. If a consumer reporting agency can verify official documents showing that the person was in that situation, it would be barred from including negative information on that person’s credit report for the time they were detained or held hostage. The goal is to prevent people from being unfairly hurt by missed payments, unpaid bills, or other credit problems that happened because they were trapped abroad against their will.
- The bill changes the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is the law that governs credit reports and credit bureaus.
- It applies to U.S. nationals who were officially found to have been wrongfully detained abroad or taken hostage abroad.
- To get the protection, the consumer must provide authenticated documentation from the proper government officials showing the detention or hostage period.
- Credit reporting agencies would not be allowed to include negative items from that time period in a consumer report if the documents are verified.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 656 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 656
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit consumer reporting
agencies from furnishing consumer reports containing adverse items of
information about a consumer that resulted from that consumer being
unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 20, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Van
Hollen, and Mr. Rounds) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit consumer reporting
agencies from furnishing consumer reports containing adverse items of
information about a consumer that resulted from that consumer being
unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad.
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 for American Hostages
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ADVERSE INFORMATION ABOUT CONSUMERS UNLAWFULLY OR WRONGFULLY
DETAINED ABROAD OR HELD HOSTAGE ABROAD.
(a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 605C the following:
``Sec. 605D. Adverse information about consumers unlawfully or
wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered consumer.--The term `covered consumer' means
an individual who has been--
``(A) a United States national unlawfully or
wrongfully detained abroad, as determined under section
302(a) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and
Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741(a));
or
``(B) a United States national taken hostage
abroad, as determined by the Hostage Recovery Fusion
Cell established by section 304 that Act (22 U.S.C.
1741b).
``(2) Detention or hostage documentation.--The term
`detention or hostage documentation' means documentation that--
``(A) certifies a consumer is a covered consumer
under this section;
``(B) identifies the time period during which the
covered consumer was unlawfully or wrongfully detained
abroad or held hostage abroad; and
``(C) is authenticated by--
``(i) the Special Presidential Envoy for
Hostage Affairs established by section 303 of
the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and
Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C.
1741a); or
``(ii) the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell
established by section 304 of that Act (22
U.S.C. 1741b).
``(b) Adverse Information.--If a consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p) is able to authenticate detention or
hostage documentation provided by a covered consumer, the consumer
reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing any
adverse item of information about the covered consumer dating during
the time period the covered consumer was unlawfully or wrongfully
detained abroad or held hostage abroad.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 605C the following:
``605D. Adverse information about consumers unlawfully or wrongfully
detained abroad or held hostage abroad.''.
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