,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ggif ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bg1 #bjbj,mrs4 ,beatty 7for herself and ,ms4 ,waters7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,fair ,debt ,collection ,practices ,act to restrict collections of consumer debt during a national disaster or emergency1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,consumer ,relief during ,,covid-#ai ,act4 #b4 ,restrictions on collections of consumer debt during a national disaster or emergency 7a7 ,in general ,the ,fair ,debt ,collection ,practices ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afib et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #hab 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afib;j7 the following3 #hab;,a4 ,restrictions on collections of consumer debt during a national disaster or emergency 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered period ,the term covered period means the period beginning on the date of enactment of this section and ending #abj days after the end of the incident period for the emergency declared on ,march #ac1 #bjbj1 by the ,president under section #eja of the ,robert ,t4 ,stafford ,disaster ,relief and ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #daba et seq47 relating to the ,coronavirus ,disease #bjai 7,,covid-#ai7 pandemic4 7#b7 ,creditor ,the term creditor means any person-- 7,a7 who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed2 or 7,b7 to whom any obligation for payment is owed4 7#c7 ,debt ,the term debt-- 7,a7 means any obligation or alleged obligation that is or during the covered period becomes past due1 other than an obligation arising out of a credit agreement entered into after the effective date of this section1 that arises out of a transaction with a consumer2 and 7,b7 does not include a mortgage loan4 7#d7 ,debt collector ,the term debt collector means a creditor and any other person or entity that engages in the collection of debt1 including the ,federal ,government and a ,state government1 irrespective of whether the applicable debt is allegedly owed to or assigned to such creditor1 person1 or entity4 7#e7 ,mortgage loan ,the term mortgage loan means a ,federally backed mortgage loan 7as defined under section #djbb of the ,,cares ,act7 and a ,federally backed multifamily mortgage loan 7as defined under section #djbc of the ,,cares ,act74 7b7 ,prohibitions 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 no debt collector may1 during a covered period-- 7,a7 enforce a security interest securing a debt through repossession1 limitation of use1 or foreclosure2 7,b7 take or threaten to take any action to deprive an individual of their liberty as a result of nonpayment of or nonappearance at any hearing relating to an obligation owed by a consumer2 7,c7 collect any debt1 by way of garnishment1 attachment1 assignment1 deduction1 offset1 or other seizure1 from-- 7i7 wages1 income1 benefits1 bank1 prepaid or other asset accounts2 or 7ii7 any assets of1 or other amounts due to1 a consumer2 7,d7 commence or continue an action to evict a consumer from real or personal property for nonpayment2 7,e7 disconnect or terminate service from a utility service1 including electricity1 natural gas1 telecommunications or broadband1 water1 or sewer1 for nonpayment2 or 7,f7 threaten to take any of the foregoing actions4 7#b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a consumer from voluntarily paying1 in whole or in part1 a debt4 7c7 ,limitation on fees and interest ,after the expiration of a covered period1 a debt collector may not add to any past due debt any interest on unpaid interest1 higher rate of interest triggered by the nonpayment of the debt1 or fee triggered prior to the expiration of the covered period by the nonpayment of the debt4 7e7 ,violations ,any person or government entity that violates this section shall be liable to the applicable consumer as provided under section #hac1 except that1 for purposes of applying section #hac-- 7#a7 such person or government entity shall be deemed a debt collector1 as such term is defined for purposes of section #hac2 and 7#b7 each dollar figure in such section shall be deemed to be #aj times the dollar figure specified4 7f7 ,tolling ,any applicable time limitations for exercising an action prohibited under subsection 7b7 shall be tolled during a covered period4 7g7 ,predispute arbitration agreements ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 no predispute arbitration agreement or predispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to a dispute brought under this section1 including a dispute as to the applicability of this section1 which shall be determined under ,federal law4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for the ,fair ,debt ,collection ,practices ,act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #hab the following3 #hab;,a4 ,restrictions on collections of consumer debt during a national disaster or emergency4 4 #c4 ,repayment period and forbearance for consumers ,section #hab;,a of the ,fair ,debt ,collection ,practices ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afib et seq471 as added by section #b1 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting after subsection 7c7 the following3 7d7 ,repayment period ,after the expiration of a covered period1 a debt collector shall comply with the following3 7#a7 ,debt arising from credit with a defined payment period ,for any debt arising from credit with a defined term1 the debt collector shall extend the time period to repay any past due balance of the debt by-- 7,a7 #a payment period for each payment that a consumer missed during the covered period1 with the payments due in the same amounts and at the same intervals as the pre-existing payment schedule2 and 7,b7 #a payment period in addition to the payment periods described under subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,debt arising from an open end credit plan ,for debt arising from an open end credit plan1 as defined in section #ajc of the ,truth in ,lending ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afjb71 the debt collector shall allow the consumer to repay the past-due balance in a manner that does not exceed the amounts permitted by the methods described in section #aga7;c7 of the ,truth in ,lending ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afff;i-#a7;c77 and regulations promulgated under that section4 7#c7 ,debt arising from other credit 7,a7 ,in general ,for debt not described under paragraph 7#b7 or 7#c71 the debt collector shall-- 7i7 allow the consumer to repay the past-due balance of the debt in substantially equal payments over time2 and 7ii7 provide the consumer with-- 7,i7 for past due balances of #b1jjj or less1 #ab months to repay1 or such longer period as the debt collector may allow2 7,,ii7 for past due balances between #b1jja and #e1jjj1 #bd months to repay1 or such longer period as the debt collector may allow2 or 7,,iii7 for past due balances greater than #e1jjj1 #cf months to repay1 or such longer period as the debt collector may allow4 7,b7 ,additional protections ,the ,director of the ,bureau may issue rules to provide greater repayment protections to consumers with debts described under subparagraph 7,a74 7,c7 ,relation to ,state law ,this paragraph shall not preempt any ,state law that provides for greater consumer protections than this paragraph4 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7h7 ,forbearance for affected consumers 7#a7 ,forbearance program ,each debt collector that makes use of the credit facility described in paragraph 7#d7 shall establish a forbearance program for debts available during the covered period4 7#b7 ,automatic grant of forbearance upon request ,under a forbearance program required under paragraph 7#a71 upon the request of a consumer experiencing a financial hardship due1 directly or indirectly1 to ,,covid-#ai1 the debt collector shall grant a forbearance on payment of debt for such time as needed until the end of the covered period1 with no additional documentation required other than the borrower's attestation to a financial hardship caused by ,,covid-#ai and with no fees1 penalties1 or interest 7beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated as if the borrower made all contractual payments on time and in full under the terms of the loan contract7 charged to the borrower in connection with the forbearance4 7#c7 ,exception for certain mortgage loans subject to the ,,cares ,act ,this subsection shall not apply to a mortgage loan subject to section #djbb or #djbc of the ,,cares ,act4 4 #d4 ,credit facility ,section #hab;,a7h7 of the ,fair ,debt ,collection ,practices ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afib et seq471 as added by section #c1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 ,credit facility ,the ,board of ,governors of the ,federal ,reserve ,system shall-- 7,a7 establish a facility1 using amounts made available under section #djjc7;b77#d7 of the ,,cares ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ijdb7;b77#d771 to make long-term1 low-cost loans to debt collectors to temporarily compensate such debt collectors for documented financial losses caused by forbearance of debt payments under this subsection2 and 7,b7 defer debt collectors' required payments on such loans until after consumers' debt payments resume4 4