Another bill has been introduced, this time in the Senate, in an effort to protect the credit of federal employees during partial government shutdowns.
Introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the Senator says his bill, known as the Shutdown Guidance for Financial Institutions Act (S. 2919) would require federal financial regulators to issue guidance after the onset of a shutdown that encourages financial institutions to work with federal employees impacted by the shutdown.
“This bill is just common sense,” said Van Hollen. “If we face another Trump Shutdown, we must do everything we can to protect consumers, federal workers, contractors, and small businesses. Issuing this guidance promptly is a small way to do that, and I urge the Senate to consider this legislation without delay.”
According to the wording of the bill, it says that financial institutions should “consider prudent efforts to modify terms on existing loans or extend new credit to help consumers and businesses affected by a shutdown, consistent with safe-and-sound lending practices.”
It also says that the financial institutions should “take steps to prevent adverse information being reported in a manner that harms consumers affected by a shutdown, including by preventing modified credit arrangements intended to help consumers fulfill their financial obligations from being reported to, and coded by, consumer reporting agencies on a consumer report in a manner that hurts the creditworthiness of the consumer.”
Van Hollen’s bill is companion legislation to a bill introduced earlier this year in the House by Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA).
