Mary Jo Kilroy: “Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Alabama talks about robust reporting and about making sure that credit is more…”

“Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Alabama talks about robust reporting and about making sure that credit is more accurately reported. This is what this bill would do. There is so much confusion and error surrounding the issue of medical debt, and medical debt is not an accurate predictor of someone's creditworthiness. Somebody might get a sudden illness or might get hit by a car. It's not like a person is going out and buying a house full of televisions or is going on a lot of vacations or out to dinner every night. They are people who are playing by the rules and who are paying off that debt. To the contrary, I think that this bill, rather than undermining the availability of credit, would actually encourage the availability of credit by having more accurate credit scores and by allowing people to obtain more reasonable rates on credit because of having more accurate credit scores. Particularly now when people are also using credit reporting with regard to employment decisions, it is all the more important. I think it is fairer to hardworking Americans. It will help the economy. It will help make a more accurate credit reporting score.”