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Washington
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Early
this
evening,
the
U.S.
Senate
passed
a
major
economic
growth
and
regulatory
relief
package
which
featured
four
important
provisions
secured
by
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC).
Scott's
provisions
will
help
increase
financial
security
for
many
low-income
and
minority
families,
as
well
as
protect
children
and
families
across
the
country
from
synthetic
identity
theft
and
fraud.
The
bipartisan
Economic
Growth,
Regulatory
Relief,
and
Consumer
Protection
Act
passed
by
a
vote
of
67-31.
Drafted
through
a
bipartisan
process
on
the
Senate
Banking
Committee,
of
which
Senator
Scott
is
a
member,
the
bill
will
free
small
and
community
banks
to
extend
credit,
loans
and
mortgages
by
right-sizing
burdensome
regulations
created
by
the
Dodd-Frank
Act.
It
also
increases
consumer
protections
for
veterans,
senior
citizens,
victims
of
fraud
and
others.
"Today
is
a
great
day
for
Main
Street,
as
we
are
finally
cutting
some
of
the
unnecessary
and
burdensome
red
tape
created
by
Dodd-Frank,"
Senator
Scott
said.
"As
I
continue
working
to
ensure
access
to
opportunity
for
all
American
families,
I
am
extremely
pleased
four
of
my
provisions
were
accepted
as
part
of
this
critical
bill.
From
increasing
access
to
the
financial
system
for
underbanked
and
credit
invisible
families,
to
ensuring
more
access
to
job
training
and
workforce
development
programs
for
residents
of
public
housing,
to
protecting
children
from
identity
theft,
we
are
taking
a
huge
step
forward
today.
I
want
to
thank
Chairman
Crapo
and
my
colleagues
on
the
Banking
Committee
for
all
their
hard
work
on
this
legislation,
and
I
hope
to
see
the
House
take
it
up
as
quickly
as
possible!"
Scott's
first
provision,
the
bipartisan
Credit
Score
Competition
Act
(Section
310),
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.
The
exclusion
of
these
data
disproportionately
hurts
minorities
and
first-time
homebuyers.
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
provision
is
the
bipartisan
Protecting
Children
From
Identity
Theft
Act
(Section
215).
A
recent
study
found
that
one
in
ten
children
had
their
Social
Security
Numbers
stolen
and
used
to
open
bank
accounts
and
lines
of
credit
fraudulently.
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.
Scott's
Making
Online
Banking
Initiation
Legal
and
Easy
(MOBILE)
Act
(Section
213)
addresses
the
fact
that
current
laws
in
regard
to
identity
verification
have
not
kept
up
with
the
changing
technologies
of
the
Internet
era.
This
amendment
would
allow
banks
and
credit
unions
to
use
a
scan
or
picture
of
a
driver's
license
to
verify
a
customer's
identification
when
they
open
an
account
online.
It
also
specifically
stipulates
the
image
must
be
destroyed
after
the
account
is
created
in
order
to
protect
privacy.
Approximately
16
million
adults
live
in
households
without
a
checking
or
savings
account
and
an
additional
51
million
adults
live
in
households
that
have
a
bank
account
but
rely
on
nonbank
lenders
like
payday
lenders
and
pawnbrokers
with
sky-high
interest
rates.
However,
about
90
percent
of
underbanked
adults
own
a
mobile
phone,
of
which
75
percent
are
smartphones.
Finally,
Scott's
bipartisan
Family
Self-Sufficiency
Act
(Section
306)
would
streamline
and
improve
the
U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development's
Family
Self-Sufficiency
(FSS)
program.
Specifically,
it
would:
1.
Improve
the
FSS
program
by
permanently
streamlining
the
Housing
Choice
Voucher-FSS
and
Public
Housing-FSS
into
one
program,
which
would
relieve
public
housing
agencies
of
the
unnecessary
burden
of
running
two
separate
programs
that
share
the
same
goal
2.
Broaden
the
scope
of
the
supportive
services
that
may
be
offered
to
include
attainment
of
a
GED,
education
in
pursuit
of
a
post-secondary
degree
or
certification,
homeownership
assistance,
and
training
in
asset
management
3.
Expand
the
reach
of
the
FSS
program
to
more
families
that
may
be
excluded
due
to
a
technicality
related
to
the
kind
of
housing
assistance
a
family
receives.
The
bill
would
authorize
HUD
to
open
up
the
FSS
program
to
families
that
live
in
privately-owned
properties
subsidized
with
project-based
rental
assistance.
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