Underwood-Backed Legislation to Strengthen Financial Security for Illinois Families Passes the House

WASHINGTON— Today, legislation backed by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) to strengthen the financial security of Illinois families passed the House of Representatives. The Comprehensive Credit Reporting Enhancement, Disclosure, Innovation, and Transparency (CREDIT) Act (H.R. 3621) makes much-needed reforms to the credit reporting system. By increasing accountability and transparency of credit reports and scores, H.R. 3621 improves access to the financial tools that families in northern Illinois rely on to buy a car or get a mortgage. The need for these reforms was highlighted by recent news reports indicating that upcoming changes to FICO scoring could impact many consumers' ability to get secure and affordable loans.

"Close to 70 percent of home sales are financed, and homebuyers' credit reports and scores are essential to obtaining mortgages that work for middle-class Illinoisans. But tens of millions of Americans have inaccurate or unfair information on their credit reports closing the door to homeownership—with little recourse to fix it," said Underwood. "The Comprehensive CREDIT Act makes essential and long-overdue improvements to consumer protections that help ensure the financial security of families in my community."

The Comprehensive CREDIT Act would:

• Make it easier to contest and fix inaccurate information in your credit history;
• Allow consumers to get their credit score for free, not just their credit report;
• Improve accountability and transparency of credit scoring models, so it's easier to understand why your credit score is what it is and what makes it go up and down;
• Prevent medical debt and private student loan debt from unfairly limiting consumers' access to credit.

In Congress, Underwood has worked to strengthen the finical security and futures of Illinois families. In April, Underwood introduced the Women's Retirement Protection Act (WRPA) to address the impact of the wage gap and pay inequalities on financial security and retirement gap. In December, Underwood questioned the Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on the Department's failure to provide relief for students defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges. During the hearing, Underwood pressed DeVos to commit that the Department of Education has discovered and corrected every unfair report on affected students' credit, but DeVos was unable to do so.

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