Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2808) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prevent consumer reporting agencies from furnishing consumer reports under certain circumstances, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2808

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act''. SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PRESCREENING REPORT REQUESTS.

(a) In General.--Section 604(c) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(4) Treatment of prescreening report requests.--

``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:

``(i) Credit union.--The term `credit union' means a Federal credit union or a State credit union, as those terms are defined, respectively, in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752).

``(ii) Insured depository institution.--The term `insured depository institution' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)).

``(iii) Residential mortgage loan.--The term `residential mortgage loan' has the meaning given the term in section 1503 of the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5102).

``(iv) Servicer.--The term `servicer' has the meaning given the term in section 6(i) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2605(i)).

``(B) Limitation.--If a person requests a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency in connection with a credit transaction involving a residential mortgage loan, that agency may not, based in whole or in part on that request, furnish a consumer report to another person under this subsection unless--

``(i) the transaction consists of a firm offer of credit or insurance; and

``(ii) that other person--

``(I) has submitted documentation to that agency certifying that such other person has, pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the authorization of the consumer to whom the consumer report relates; or

``(II)(aa) has originated a current residential mortgage loan of the consumer to whom the consumer report relates;

``(bb) is the servicer of a current residential mortgage loan of the consumer to whom the consumer report relates; or

``(cc)(AA) is an insured depository institution or credit union; and

``(BB) holds a current account for the consumer to whom the consumer report relates.''. SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 4. GAO STUDY.

(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study on the value of trigger leads received by text message that includes input from State regulatory agencies, mortgage lenders, depository institutions (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)), consumer reporting agencies (as defined in section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)), and consumers.

(b) Report.--Not later than the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report containing any findings and determinations made in the study required by subsection (a).

Mr. Speaker, before I get to the specifics of this bill, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Congressman Ritchie Torres who has been an outstanding co-lead and steadfast advocate for the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act.

This has been a long journey leading up to today's vote, and I thank Representative Torres for his unyielding desire to put a stop to the scourge of abusive mortgage trigger leads.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2808, the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act will literally impact each and every consumer that applies for a mortgage in this country.

Currently, credit bureaus are notified when a consumer applies for mortgage financing. That information, which is referred to as a trigger lead, is then often sold by the credit bureaus to data brokers and other lenders without the consumer's knowledge or approval. Consumers are then often bombarded with hundreds of unwanted solicitations.

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act would dramatically reduce the number of unwanted calls and messages that millions endure during the home-buying process.

The bill prohibits a consumer reporting agency from furnishing a trigger lead to a third party unless the consumer has opted in. The third party must be a federally insured depository institution, a federally insured credit union, or an originator or servicer of a consumer's existing mortgage. Agencies can also furnish a trigger lead if a consumer has a preexisting relationship with a covered entity.

Over the years, I have heard from individuals from all walks of life about their deep-seated frustrations when it comes to being inundated by abusive mortgage credit trigger leads. Being contacted dozens to hundreds of times a day after applying for a mortgage is simply unacceptable. Many abusive trigger leads occur at nearly all hours of the day and night. This is especially true if the trigger lead user resides in a different time zone than the individual that they are contacting.

It is also important to note that many of these merciless trigger leads come from unscrupulous companies that misrepresent the important fact that they are not affiliated with the mortgage company the individual initially applied with.

Another important factor to consider is that when consumers get flooded with trigger leads, they often blame their mortgage originator, despite that mortgage originator having no role in selling their information.

Just this weekend, my own sister-in-law, who applied for a mortgage last week, was inundated with literally hundreds of these contacts, so this is very personal to me and my family.

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close and reserve the balance of my time.

I emphasize just how much support there is for this legislation. My colleague has just enumerated some of that. This month, 43 attorneys general and members of the National Association of Attorneys General signed a letter supporting this bill.

Additionally, many organizations, some already mentioned, have come out in support of this bill, including the American Bankers Association, the Tennessee Bankers Association, America's Credit Unions, the Broker Action Coalition, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge each of my colleagues to stand up for every future home buyer in their district by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 2808, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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