119th (2025–2027)
H.R. 9639
The FAIR Credit Act amends federal credit reporting laws to protect consumers from predatory lending, identity theft, and fraud by making several key changes to how credit information is handled and reported. The bill removes medical debt from credit reports, extends fraud alert protections from one year to seven years and strengthens security freezes, and prohibits credit reporting agencies from including negative information resulting from unfair or illegal conduct by financial institutions when originating or servicing residential mortgages. The legislation also strengthens protections for vulnerable populations including domestic abuse survivors, identity theft victims, and children whose clean credit histories make them targets for theft that often goes undetected for years. These protections take effect at varying timelines, with mortgage-related provisions taking effect 18 months after enactment, while the bill establishes updated definitions of medical debt and clarifies regulatory oversight to include credit scoring developers and loan servicers alongside traditional credit reporting agencies.