Rep. Robert Pittenger
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Pittenger’s (NC-09) major bipartisan legislation, the Credit Access and Inclusion Act (H.R. 435), which increases access to affordable credit for the tens of millions of Americans with little or no credit score.
“At a time when access to affordable credit is a practical necessity for establishing personal financial stability and achieving upward socio-economic mobility, tens of millions of Americans are held hostage by their nonexistent or very low credit scores,” said Congressman Pittenger. “This bipartisan legislation will enable hardworking Americans to build their credit scores on their own merits, without federal funds or burdensome government mandates.”
The bipartisan Credit Access and Inclusion Act (H.R. 435) was introduced by Congressman Pittenger (R-NC) and Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) in January 2017 and was unanimously approved by the House Financial Services Committee on December 13th, 2017.
As part of the normal legislative schedule, Congressman Pittenger’s Credit Access and Inclusion Act was packaged with Congressman French Hill’s (R-AR) TRID Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R. 5078), which was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today.
BACKGROUND
The bipartisan Credit Access and Inclusion Act would allow utilities, telecom companies, and landlords to report on-time payment data to credit reporting agencies, enabling families with little or no credit to build credit scores based on a full and more appropriate picture of their payment history.
Those with little or no credit history are considered high risk and can be rejected when they apply for credit, and also pay higher rates for car and homeowner’s insurance. Congressmen Pittenger and Ellison’s bipartisan legislation would enable 50 million Americans to establish a credit score, and help over 50 million more Americans improve their existing score.
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