The U.S. Senate will consider S. 1753, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, this week. The bill is expected to reach the Senate floor November 4.

Like the House-passed bill (H.R. 2622), S. 1753 would renew expiring FCRA provisions that give federal law precedence over state law with regard to the use and exchange of personal financial information. Under the unanimous consent agreement to consider S. 1753 reached last week, 25 amendments will be debated including six by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California). One amendment to be offered by Feinstein would allow consumers to opt out of information-sharing by affiliated companies.

Affiliate sharing provisions are part of the expiring preemptions. The House elected not to open the expiring provisions to amendment, opting instead for a clean reauthorization and permanent extension of the expiring preemptions. Since late last week, there has been talk on Capitol Hill that FCRA legislation may face delays in the conference process. While congressional sources are still saying a bill can be passed, we are beginning to hear that a fall-back position might be a temporary extension of the expiring preemption provisions if agreement on broader legislation cannot be reached before Congress adjourns.

What It Means to Agents:  PIA supports reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We would like to see a clearer definition and process that protects ownership of information in the bill because banks routinely share information with their affiliates that is not their “owned data,” comprised of their own experiences.