In the News

Debt Collection Legislative Agenda Announced for House Financial Services Committee Hearing

ACA International
9/24/19

Ten legislative proposals are on the docket for discussion Thursday during a House Financial Services Committee hearing where ACA member John Bedard, owner of the Bedard Law Group, and Sarah Auchterlonie, shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, will testify on behalf of the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.

In addition to Bedard and Auchterlonie, the committee announced the following witnesses for the hearing:

- Cassandra Gould, pastor, Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church (Jefferson City, Missouri) and executive director, Missouri Faith Voices;
- Bhairavi Desai, executive director, New York Taxi Workers Alliance;
- April Kuehnhoff, staff attorney, National Consumer Law Center (NCLC); and
- Dalié Jiménez, professor of law, University of California, Irvine School of Law.
- Rohit Chopra, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

The hearing , at 10 a.m. EST Thursday, Sept. 26, was rescheduled from this summer and comes a week after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s comment deadline for the proposed debt collection rule.

“ACA International is thrilled to have John Bedard and Sarah Auchterlonie as the ARM industry witnesses during the hearing to provide expert feedback on the proposed rule, the CFPB’s complaint database and the impact of regulations on the industry,” said Leah Dempsey, ACA’s vice president and senior counsel of federal advocacy.

Bedard is a well-known ACA member who consistently speaks at association events, and participates in podcasts and webinars. Meanwhile, Auchterlonie consulted with ACA extensively on its comments to the CFPB and helped dissect the comments and more of the proposed rule during a Hot Topic webinar Sept. 20.

The committee’s hearing memorandum outlines federal policy, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the CFPB’s proposed rule, as well as different types of debt (medical debt, student debt and small-business loans) as potential topics for discussion.

Among the legislative proposals, one bill (H.R. 4403 sponsored by U.S. Reps. Emmanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., and French Hill, R-Ark.,) focused on the FDCPA suggests extending the law to collectors of a debt owed to a federal agency, and limits fees.

The Small Business Lending Fairness Act (H.R. 3490) is a bipartisan bill sponsored by U.S. Reps. Nydia Velasquez, D-N.Y., and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, that restricts the use of confessions of judgment for small business owners.

The Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act (H.R. 3948) is a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., that extends FDCPA to cover debt owed to a state or local government and adds protections to consumers affected by national disasters.

The remaining proposals under review at the hearing, in discussion draft form, include expanding the FDCPA’s protections to cover small business loans and banning entities from collecting medical debt or reporting it to a consumer reporting agency without notifying a consumer of their rights under the FDCPA and Fair Credit Reporting Act.