Congressman Cohen Votes for Comprehensive CREDIT Act

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted for, and the House passed, the Comprehensive Credit Rating Enhancement, Disclosure, Innovation and Transparency (CREDIT) Act. The bill features elements of his Free Access to Credit Scores Act and his Equal Employment for All Act.

The bill also incorporates two amendments the congressman introduced. One amendment defines the time period in which a credit reporting agency is required to change a report after a consumer makes consecutive payments. The other clarifies that credit reports cannot be used as the sole reason for denial of employment.

The vote on passage was 221 to 189.

Before the vote, Congressman Cohen spoke in favor of his amendments from the House floor. See those remarks here.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement after the vote:

"I have worked tirelessly over the last 11 years to make sure consumers have access to their credit scores for free and that individuals are not denied employment because of their credit. For eight of those years, Majority Republicans refused to have any consumer credit measures come to the floor for a vote. It is time to reform the credit reporting industry and restore fairness in relations between consumers and their creditors. This measure makes common sense changes in the interest of accuracy and transparency in an area of critical importance to the lives and financial futures of American consumers."

Credit scores are tied to many important factors in consumers' lives, determining the interest rates on mortgages, credit cards and bank loans.