Debt Bondage Repair Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2332) to prohibit consumer reporting agencies from furnishing a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer if such consumer is a victim of trafficking, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2332
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 ``Debt Bondage Repair Act''. SEC. 2. ADVERSE INFORMATION IN CASES OF TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 605B the following: ``Sec. 605C Adverse information in cases of trafficking
``(a) In General.--A consumer reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer that resulted from a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking if the consumer has provided trafficking documentation to the consumer reporting agency.
``(b) Rulemaking.--
``(1) In general.--The Director shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, issue a rule to implement subsection (a).
``(2) Contents.--The rule issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish a method by which consumers shall submit trafficking documentation to consumer reporting agencies.
``(c) Definitions.--
``(1) Trafficking documentation.--The term trafficking documentation means--
``(A) documentation of either--
``(i) a determination by a Federal or State government entity that a consumer is a victim of trafficking; or
``(ii) a determination by a court of competent jurisdiction that a consumer is a victim of trafficking; and
``(B) documentation that identifies items of adverse information that should not be furnished by a consumer reporting agency because the items resulted from the severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking of which such consumer is a victim.
``(2) Victim of trafficking.--For the purposes of this section, the term ``victim of trafficking'' means a person who is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking, as such terms are defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.''.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 605B the following new item: ``605C. Adverse information in cases of trafficking.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issues a rule pursuant to section 605C(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
(d) Determination of Budgetary Effects.--The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Committee on Financial Services ranking member, Mr. McHenry, for introducing H.R. 2332, the Debt Bondage Repair Act.
Over the last year, working in a bipartisan manner, the Financial Services Committee has been engaged in an examination of trafficking issues of all types. As we heard at a recent hearing that delved into issues of human trafficking, which includes forced labor, sex trafficking and organ trafficking, victims of trafficking are not only abused physically and emotionally, but financially also.
The moving testimony of Reverend Dr. Martin Hatcher, an advocate for sex trafficking survivors and a survivor himself, demonstrated how traffickers steal their victims' identities, open accounts in their names, run up credit card debt, purchase large ticket items like automobiles, and take out loans while pretending to be their victims.
This financial exploitation is not only designed as a stream of finance, allowing the traffickers' operation to thrive, but it also inflicts long-term harm and asserts control over the victim.
This bill, which aims to help survivors of human trafficking restore their credit and gain access to the consumer financial products and services that most of us take for granted, is an important step in restoring survivors' dignity and financial stability and in preventing revictimization.
Specifically, the bill prohibits credit bureaus from including adverse information that resulted from human or sex trafficking in a victim's credit report. It directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to develop a process to ensure that adverse information caused by their traffickers is not included in a victim's credit report. Such a process does not exist now and, given the importance that credit reports play in our economy, it makes it difficult for survivors in our communities to get a loan or even secure a job.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.
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Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Survivors of human trafficking face many obstacles to recovering from the physical, emotional, and financial abuse inflicted by their traffickers. The Debt Bondage Repair Act makes strides in assisting them to restore their credit and achieve financial reintegration into their communities.
Congress can play a leading role in helping trafficking survivors to take back control. For that reason, I certainly urge both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this important bill.
I do want to take a moment to thank my ranking member, Mr. McHenry, for the leadership that he has provided on trafficking in general and on financial trafficking specifically. This is important legislation, and I am so pleased to be able to work with him, and I am so pleased that this bill has bipartisan support. I want to thank him for the work that he has done and will continue to do.
I would also briefly note that survivors of trafficking are not the only individuals who are harmed by our broken credit reporting system. The system serves as a major barrier to economic opportunity for so many others. So we are going to continue working with Mr. McHenry, and I have scheduled a full committee hearing on June 29 to further explore these credit reporting challenges. I believe that our Republican colleagues will join with us to advance bold solutions to make the system fair for all of our constituents.
Again, I am so pleased that the members of the committee have worked together. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2332, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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