The House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 5332, the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019, which would create a central portal for individuals to view their credit scores and allow them to more easily file disputes and give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau more oversight of credit reporting agencies.
The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-N.J.], passed by a vote of 234 to 179. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.
“Today, the House passed my bipartisan bill to give Americans the tools they need to strengthen and protect what they spend a lifetime building: their credit,” said Rep. Gottheimer, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, in a statement. “We need a modernized system that empowers all consumers, especially those facing new challenges with this pandemic, with transparency and the ability to correct errors to credit reports, and to make sure everyone can have access to credit, so that they can have a home, a car, and enjoy everything that everyone who works hard should have access to.”
Under the bill, the three major credit reporting agencies would be required to:
- Provide free and unlimited access to credit reports and scores;
- Provide the ability to initiate and resolve disputes between a consumer and a credit bureau;
- Provide the consumer with the ability to place or remove a security freeze on their credit to protect from fraud;
- Provide consumers with access to see who the bureaus have sold their data to in the prior two years
The bill would also require the CFPB to create the position of credit reporting ombudsman, an individual who would be responsible for enhancing oversight of the credit reporting agencies within the Bureau.
The bill would also allow for individuals to seek injunctive relief and be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
