Congresswoman Cori Bush’s Amendment to the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act Passes the House of Representatives
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House of Representatives passed Congresswoman Cori Bush’s (MO-01) amendment to the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act (H.R. 2547). The amendment would direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to analyze consumer complaint data relating to debt collection practices during the pandemic, especially as it relates to medical debt and debts owed by servicemembers. The report will also detail a list of enforcement actions taken by CFPB relating to debt collection during the pandemic. The CFPB is required to report this information to Congress in six months and include a strategy on how the CFPB will utilize regulatory, supervisory and enforcement tools to combat predatory debt collection practices. Additionally, CFPB will be required to request eligible debt collectors to provide to the Bureau information about their default judgments when consumers were sued for debt during the pandemic.
Earlier today, the Congresswoman spoke on the House Floor in support of the legislation and her amendment.
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Below are the Congresswoman’s remarks as delivered:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Chairwoman Waters for you and the committee’s leadership on this bill.
St. Louis and I rise today in support of the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act, critical legislation that would enhance debt collection protections for consumers, students, servicemembers, and small businesses.
This pandemic has devastated Black and brown communities like mine in St. Louis. As someone who was uninsured during this pandemic, got sick is still struggling with those medical bills, I know the hardships faced every day by people across this country.
My amendment to this bill will require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to present a report to Congress that analyzes debt collection practices using consumer complaint data.
Debt collectors should not be able to call, email, or text you to the point of harassment. Your medical debt should not be reported on your credit, especially in the wake of a global pandemic.
The CFPB has an obligation to protect our seniors, protect our frontline workers, protect our service workers, and protect our families by developing tools to combat predatory debt collection practices.
Thank you and I yield back.
To watch and download the Congresswoman’s full remarks, click here.
H.R. 2547, the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act, would provide important protections for small businesses, servicemembers, students, and other consumers against mistreatment and harassment by certain debt collectors.
The bill is supported by a number of consumer and civil rights groups, including the Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Economic Integrity, Center for Responsible Lending, Color of Change, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Demos, Equal Justice Under Law, HPPCARES, Legal Aid Justice Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Center for Access to Justice, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Public Citizen, Public Justice, Public Justice Center, Student Borrower Protection Center, and U.S. PIRG.
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Congresswoman Cori Bush represents Missouri’s First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also a Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus. She is a registered nurse, a single mother, and an ordained pastor. Following the murder of Michael Brown Jr. by a now-terminated Ferguson police officer, she became a civil rights activist and community organizer fighting for justice for Black lives on the streets of Missouri and across the country.