Senate Committee Approves FCRA Legislation

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, Sept. 24, 10:54 a.m. EDT, Washington?Industry groups are praising the Senate Banking Committee's action yesterday approving legislation reauthorizing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but some concerns remain.

The legislation, called the National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act, permanently reauthorizes FCRA, including its preemptions of inconsistent state laws, and adds new provisions aimed at combating identity theft and enhancing consumer access to their credit records.

In addition, the legislation approved by the Senate mandates a Federal Trade Commission study of the impact of insurance company credit scoring on the availability of financial products.

The legislation also contains language requiring financial institutions that share personal financial information of customers among affiliates to give their customers the opportunity to opt out of marketing and solicitation calls.

Gary Karr, a representative of the Washington-based American Insurance Association, said AIA is encouraged by the Senate Banking Committee's action.

AIA strongly supports permanent reauthorization of FCRA, Mr. Karr said. Reauthorization, he said, is crucial to the nation's economy.

The important thing, he said, is that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Dick Shelby, R-Ala., and Ranking Democrat Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., are moving quickly in a bipartisan way that hopefully will see enactment of legislation by the end of the year.

As for AIA's concerns, he said, the affiliate sharing provision is a problem, but AIA hopes to have a good chance to address that issue as the legislation advances.

The FTC study, Mr. Karr said, also is headed in a positive direction.

Regarding the study, Marliss A. Browder, federal affairs representative for the Indianapolis-based National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said NAMIC is unhappy with the Committee's decision to go forward with the study, which was included in the bill as an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J.

However, Ms. Browder added, the amendment was changed by the Committee. Originally, she noted, the study was to be done by FTC in conjunction with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But the Committee decided to exclude HUD participation in the final version of the amendment.

"It is unsuitable for any agency without authority over insurance to conduct this study," Ms. Browder said. "States, not agencies such as HUD, have jurisdiction over insurance and have been active in addressing this aspect of insurance regulation."

Carl Parks, senior vice president of government relations with the Des Plaines, Ill.-based National Association of Independent Insurers, said he hopes the quick action by the Banking Committee in approving FCRA reauthorization will move the process towards a vote on the Senate floor as quickly as possible.

He noted that the House, on Sept. 12, passed its own version of FCRA reauthorization by a 392-30 vote.

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Senate Committee Approves FCRA Legislation

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