S. 2255 · 114th Congress
Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2015
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
BookerSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to redefine: (1) "debt" to include any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay a loan, an overpayment, a fine, penalty, a fee, or other money to a federal agency and that is at least 180 days past due; and (2) "debt collector" to include any person who regularly collects debts owed or…
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Nov 5, 2015
Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2015
This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to redefine: (1) "debt" to include any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay a loan, an overpayment, a fine, penalty, a fee, or other money to a federal agency and that is at least 180 days past due; and (2) "debt collector" to include any person who regularly collects debts owed or allegedly owed to a federal agency.
A federal agency that is a creditor may sell or transfer a debt to a debt collector beginning 180 days after the obligation or alleged obligation arises.
The Act is further amended by making the collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) an unfair practice unless:
- the amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law (as under current law); or
- in the case of a debt owed a federal agency, the collection charge is reasonable in relation to actual collection costs, is authorized by a contract between the debt collector and the federal agency, and does not exceed 10% of the amount the debt collector collects.
The Government Accountability Office must study the use of debt collectors by state and local government agencies.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2015
Latest action (Nov 5, 2015): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Nov 5, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.