House Financial Services Committee Considers Amendments to the FDCPA

On November 14, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed the following bills which would amend the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and tighten consumer protections. The bills will now make their way to full House for further consideration.

• The Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act of 2019 (H.R. 5021) is a response to the proposed Debt Collection Rules and proposes to prohibit a debt collector from contacting a consumer by email or text message without a consumer’s consent to be contacted electronically. The bill also prohibits the CFPB from issuing any rules implementing the FDCPA that allow a debt collector to send unlimited email and text messages to a consumer.
  
• The Small Business Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (H.R. 5013) proposes to expand the FDCPA’s protections to certain small business debt.
• The Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act (H.R. 5003) seeks to add additional prohibitions to the FDCPA concerning servicemembers and their families.
• The Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act (H.R. 4403) proposes to extend the FDCPA’s protections as it relates to debt owed to a federal agency, limits the fees debt collectors can charge, and clarifies that debt buyers are subject to FDCPA.
• The Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act (H.R. 3948) proposes to expand the scope of the FDCPA to include municipal utility bills, tolls, traffic tickets, and court debts.
• The Small Business Lending Fairness Act (H.R. 3490) proposes to restrict the use of confessions of judgment embedded in certain contracts.