House and Senate negotiators have agreed on legislation to permanently reauthorize the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). On Friday night, the House passed the legislation, with the Senate following suit the next day. "This is historic legislation that will maintain the credit system in this country that we know and rely on," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio). "No one gets all that they want, but we believe this is a good balance," said Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland). The bill also gives consumers new protections against identity theft, including free credit reports annually and a national fraud alert system to minimize damage once a theft has occurred.  Finally, the bill preempts state laws that conflict with national rules on the use of credit information.

The House Financial Services Committee has issued a summary of the identity theft and consumer protection provisions of the legislation.