Kit Bond: “I thank the Chair. Mr. President, let me also put in a word of thanks to the credit bureaus, a group that does not…”

“I thank the Chair. Mr. President, let me also put in a word of thanks to the credit bureaus, a group that does not normally receive thanks in this body, but they have taken steps to make the system more accurate, and we commend them for it. They have moved in the proper direction. But I do believe that legislation will still be needed. Congress must very soon address the concerns of accuracy in the system and the need for consumer privacy. If my colleagues are in the same position as I am, they have undoubtedly heard from many, many people about their problems with credit reporting. I believe that S. 783, as reported by the committee, addresses those concerns. It establishes a 30-day reinvestigation time period so consumers can resolve their disputes in credit reports in a timely manner. It requires employers to get an employee's consent before pulling the employee's credit report. It improves consumer disclosures so that consumers are informed of their rights whenever they receive their credit report and whenever adverse action is taken against them on the basis of their report. It imposes duties on the furnishers of information so that they cannot furnish information to the credit bureau that they know is incomplete or inaccurate. And it imposes a civil liability on those furnishers who fail to fix a consumer's file when the consumer disputes information which has been furnished.”