[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1345 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1345
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to create protected credit
reports for minors and protect the credit of minors, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 2, 2017
Mr. Langevin (for himself, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms. Clark of
Massachusetts, and Ms. Bass) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to create protected credit
reports for minors and protect the credit of minors, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Protect Children from Theft Act of
2017''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTIONS FOR CREDIT REPORTS OF MINORS.
(a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 605B the following new
section:
``SEC. 605C. ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR CREDIT REPORTS OF MINOR
CONSUMERS.
``(a) In General.--A consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) shall, upon request by a covered guardian of a minor consumer,
create a blocked file for the minor consumer or convert a file of the
minor consumer already in existence to a blocked file.
``(b) Requirements.--The Bureau, by rule, shall establish
procedures--
``(1) for a consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) to properly identify the covered guardian and the minor
consumer prior to creating, converting, or unblocking a blocked
file for such minor consumer;
``(2) for such a consumer reporting agency to create a
blocked file for a minor consumer or to convert a file of a
minor consumer already in existence to a blocked file; and
``(3) consistent with subsection (c), for a covered
guardian to unblock a file.
``(c) Unblocking a File.--
``(1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency described in
section 603(p) shall unblock a blocked file upon request by a
covered guardian or on the date of the 18th birthday of the
minor consumer.
``(2) Alert statement.--An alert statement shall be
included in a file unblocked pursuant to paragraph (1) if the
minor consumer was a victim of fraud or identity theft before
the date of the 18th birthday of the minor consumer as follows:
``(A) For a file unblocked upon request by a
covered guardian, for a period of time beginning on the
date such file is unblocked and ending on the date that
is 1 year after the date of the 18th birthday of the
minor consumer.
``(B) For a file unblocked on the date of the 18th
birthday of the minor consumer, for a period of 1 year
after such date.
``(3) Duty of reseller.--With respect to information
concerning a consumer whose file contains an alert statement, a
reseller shall include such alert statement when furnishing
such information.
``(d) Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The Bureau shall determine if a fee may
be charged, and the amount of the fee charged, by a consumer
reporting agency described in section 603(p) to create,
convert, or unblock a file.
``(2) Fees prohibited.--A consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p) may not charge a fee to a minor
consumer who was a victim of fraud or identity theft prior to
the date of the minor's 18th birthday, to create, convert, or
unblock a file.
``(e) Exceptions.--No provision of this section shall be construed
as requiring a consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) to
prevent a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency from
accessing a blocked file.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section the following definitions shall
apply:
``(1) Alert statement.--The term `alert statement' means a
statement that--
``(A) notifies all prospective users of a consumer
report relating to the consumer that the consumer may
be a victim of fraud, including identity theft; and
``(B) is presented in a manner that facilitates a
clear and conspicuous view of the statement described
in subparagraph (A) by any person requesting such
consumer report.
``(2) Blocked file.--The term `blocked file' means a file
of a minor consumer in which, pursuant to this section, a
consumer reporting agency--
``(A) maintains a file with the name, social
security number, date of birth, and, if applicable, any
credit information of the minor consumer;
``(B) may not provide any person with a consumer
report of the minor consumer; and
``(C) blocks the input of any information into the
file, except with permission from a covered guardian of
the minor consumer.
``(3) Covered guardian.--The term `covered guardian'
means--
``(A) the legal guardian of a minor child;
``(B) the custodian of a minor child; or
``(C) in the case of a child in foster care, the
State agency or Indian tribe or tribal organization
responsible for the child's foster care.
``(4) Minor consumer.--The term `minor consumer' means a
consumer who has not attained 18 years of age.''.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after the item related to section 605B the following new item:
``605C. Additional protections for credit reports of minor
consumers.''.
<all>