At this writing, the financial services industry is holding its breath awaiting Senate action to reauthorize the several expiring sections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The full Senate is poised to take up its bill sometime in October, after which a conference report must quickly be accepted by both Houses of Congress in order to pass this legislation before the time expires for the provisions on January 1, 2004.

The House expediently passed its version of the renewal on September 10, when it approved H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT), by a vote of 392-30. Sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, the FACT Act boasts of such consumer friendly provisions as free access to credit reports and a new fraud alert system to give consumers greater protection from identity thieves. The legislation also permanently extends the provisions that enable consumers to benefit from the uniform national credit-granting standards, which provides reliable and affordable access to credit.

After passage in the House, the Senate Banking Committee passed its version of renewal, the National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act. The Committee unanimously approved the Act on September 23, 2003. The Senate legislation is similar to the House FACT Act, but not identical. The Senate version of the bill includes provisions that address affiliate sharing and a requirement that creditors would send notices to consumers when their credit scores result in higher interest rates. AFSA will continue working with the Senate to address the concerns of our members as the bill reaches a vote.

The Senate anticipates bringing the legislation to the floor for a vote during the week of October 20, 2003. However, this date may change due to the Supplemental Appropriations legislation that is currently before the full Senate.

We encourage all AFSA members to contact their respective Senators. Urge them to schedule this bill for immediate consideration so that the President can sign a reconciled conference report before Congress adjourns.