Congress Examines New Consumer Credit Legislation to Help Veterans

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit is examining bipartisan legislation that would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The new legislation, entitled “The Protecting Veterans Credit Act of 2017,” would exclude certain medical debts incurred by a veteran from their credit report if the medical services predate the credit report by less than one year. The new legislation also includes a dispute process for consumer reporting agencies to handle veterans’ disputes. The one-year delay in reporting provides time for the VA and its contractors to resolve billing and copay issues with the veteran before the veteran incurs derogatory credit reporting.
 
Veterans are among the hardest-hit group of Americans in terms of credit and collections. Assuming the bill passes, this bipartisan legislation will be a great step forward in assisting veterans to improve their creditworthiness.