To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to remove adverse information for certain defaulted or delinquent private education loan borrowers who demonstrate a history of loan repayment, and for other purposes.
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore the impaired credit of victims of predatory activities and unfair consumer reporting practices, to expand access to tools to protect vulnerable consumers from identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, and protect victims from further harm, and for other purposes.
To establish a whistleblower program at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and for other purposes.
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to establish clear Federal oversight of the development of credit scoring models by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and for other purposes.
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to fix the consumer report dispute process, to ban misleading and unfair consumer reporting practices, and for other purposes.
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to ensure that student borrowers are provided relief from their student loans in the instance of substantial misrepresentation or omission by an institution of higher education.
The "Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act of 2019” (HAVEN Act) was included in the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 (the NDAA). The HAVEN Act was previously included in the Senate’s NDAA that passed on June 27. If not passed sooner as a standalone bill, the HAVEN Act should be part of the final version of the NDAA that will eventually become law. Timetable for ultimate passage is unclear as there are material differences between the Senate and House versions of the NDAA. The Senate and House will eventually conference to reconcile those differences. Once that’s done, that amended version of the NDAA will need to be approved, again, by both the full Senate and the House, after which it will go to the White House for signature. Meanwhile, efforts to enact the HAVEN Act on a standalone basis continue, according to ABI's Veterans' Affairs Task Force. The House Judiciary Committee “marked up” the HAVEN Act earlier this week, and reported it to the full House without any proposed amendments to it.
A proposal to prevent big technology companies from functioning as financial institutions or issuing digital currencies has been circulated for discussion by the Democratic majority that leads the House Financial Services Committee, according to a copy of the draft legislation seen by Reuters. In a sign of widening scrutiny after Facebook Inc.’s proposed Libra digital coin aroused widespread objection, the bill proposes a fine of $1 million per day for violation of such rules. Such a sweeping proposal would likely spark opposition from Republican members of the house who are keen on innovation, and would likely struggle to gather enough votes to pass the lower chamber. Even if it were to pass the full house, it would still have to pass the senate which would also likely be an uphill struggle. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Libra and other cryptocurrencies and demanded that companies seek a banking charter and make themselves subject to U.S. and global regulations if they wanted to “become a bank.” Also, the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee have hearings scheduled this week to examine Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency.
A bill that would substantially boost federal Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico advanced out of a U.S. House subcommittee yesterday after lawmakers agreed to work on stricter safeguards in the wake of a government corruption scandal in the territory, Reuters reported. The Health Subcommittee sent the legislation, which would give the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth an additional $12 billion over four years, to the full House Committee on Energy and Commerce. On Wednesday, U.S. law enforcement officials announced a 32-count indictment and arrests of six people, including two former high-ranking Puerto Rico government officials, who were charged with conspiracy and other crimes in connection with millions of dollars in federal Medicaid and education funds. Angela Avila-Marrero, former executive director of Puerto Rico’s Health Insurance Administration, was indicted for her role in a scheme to steal federal Medicaid dollars through a corrupt bidding process with private contractors. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, said while the indictments were “very troubling,” there was no time to address the allegations in the bill. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that unless we act there will be a massive shortfall of federal funds for the Puerto Rico Medicaid program that would be devastating to the people that live there,” he said, adding he hoped lawmakers will work together to add “rigorous” oversight to the bill. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon) said he was committed to ensuring measures are in the bill “to stop these types of fraudulent activities that are alleged from happening.”
