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Washington
–
Several
initiatives
introduced
by
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
have
been
included
in
S.
2155,
the
Economic
Growth,
Regulatory
Relief,
and
Consumer
Protection
Act,
which
the
U.S.
Senate
is
debating
this
week.
Scott’s
amendments
included
in
the
broader
legislative
package
are
the
Protecting
Children
From
Identity
Theft
Act,
legislation
that
will
help
prevent
children’s
identity
being
stolen
by
a
type
of
theft
known
as
“synthetic
ID
fraud,”
and
the
Credit
Score
Competition
Act,
which
will
help
more
Americans
achieve
homeownership
by
including
26
million
"credit
invisible"
individuals
in
the
housing
market.
“It
is
a
great
day
when
we
have
the
opportunity
to
pass
legislation
that
will
create
real,
tangible
change
for
the
American
people,”
said
Scott.
“I
am
very
pleased
that
my
amendments
will
be
included,
as
they
will
take
a
significant
step
forward
in
curbing
‘synthetic
ID
fraud’
–
a
crime
that
negatively
impacts
millions
of
people,
and
also
a
seeks
to
help
credit-invisible
Americans
be
more
competitive
for
mortgage
lending
and
homeownership.”
Scott’s
first
amendment,
the
Credit
Score
Competition
Act,
was
first
introduced
late
last
summer
and
was
a
bipartisan
effort
spearheaded
by
Scott
and
Sen.
Mark
Warner
(D-VA).
The
Credit
Score
Competition
Act
directs
the
Federal
Housing
Finance
Agency
to
create
a
process
by
which
new
credit
scoring
models
can
be
validated
and
approved
for
use
by
Fannie
Mae
and
Freddie
Mac
(GSEs)
when
they
purchase
mortgages.
Currently,
the
GSEs
are
mandated
to
consider
a
decades-old
credit
scoring
model
that
does
not
take
into
account
consumer
data
on
rent,
utility,
and
cell
phone
bill
payments.
For
example,
In
South
Carolina
alone,
only
77%
of
adults
can
be
scored
under
the
model
currently
used
by
the
GSEs.
An
additional
16%
of
South
Carolinians
can
be
scored
under
newer
credit
scoring
models
in
the
market.
Scott’s
second
amendment,
the
Protecting
Children
From
Identity
Theft
Act,
was
introduced
this
week
by
a
group
of
bipartisan
cosponsors
including
Senators
Bill
Cassidy
(R-LA),
Claire
McCaskill
(D-MO),
and
Gary
Peters
(D-MI).
A
recent
study
found
that
one
in
ten
children
had
their
SSN
stolen,
and
used
to
open
fraudulent
accounts.
This
amendment
aims
to
stop
this
illegal
activity
by
directing
the
Social
Security
Administration
(SSA)
to
accept
electronic
signatures
as
consumer
consent
for
financial
institutions
trying
to
verify
customer
ID
and
root
out
synthetic
ID
fraud.
Last
year,
two
additional
provisions
authored
by
Scott
were
added
to
the
bill,
the
MOBILE
Act
and
the
Family
Self-Sufficiency
Act.
The
vote
for
final
passage
of
the
Economic
Growth,
Regulatory
Relief,
and
Consumer
Protection
Act
is
anticipated
to
take
place
next
week.
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