New Credit Reporting Related Congressional Hearings

Congress has recently conducted hearings on changes to certain banking regulations that could impact the liability Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other federal laws.  Some interesting quotes about the hearings:

The changes, made public only last Wednesday, are providing new ammunition to critics of the banking legislation, which would scale back regulations imposed after the 2008 financial crisis. Congress has yet to pass any laws creating stiffer penalties for companies like Equifax, whose security practices allowed hackers to steal highly sensitive data on as many as 148 million U.S. customers last year.

“This is the credit reporting agencies, one of whom caused more than half of the U.S. adult population to get hacked and to have their Social Security numbers in the hands of thieves,” National Consumer Law Center staff attorney Chi Chi Wu said. “They really should not have that political clout right now.”

And from Senator Sherrod Brown:

“Equifax is willing to do a little bit for people, just a little bit, but damn it, you can’t sue us then,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat fighting the legislation, said on the Senate floor Thursday. “That was the deal. We’ll give you a little bit of credit monitoring but in return you can’t sue us for anything you do.”

Contact your Congressperson

Strengthening consumer and banking laws and regulations are the best way to ensure consumers are protected.  Contact your Senator or Congressperson to ensure these laws are maintained.

Contact information for Alabama officials can be found here.

Contact information for Texas officials can be found here.