FCRA Liability Harmonization Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5775 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5775

    To amend the civil liability requirements under the Fair Credit
 Reporting Act to include requirements relating to class actions, and
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2025

 Mr. Loudermilk (for himself, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Meuser,
 Mrs. Kim, and Mr. Huizenga) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To amend the civil liability requirements under the Fair Credit
 Reporting Act to include requirements relating to class actions, and
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``FCRA Liability Harmonization Act''.

SEC. 2. MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY IN CIVIL LIABILITY UNDER THE FAIR
              CREDIT REPORTING ACT FOR CLASS ACTIONS.

    (a) Willful Noncompliance.--Section 616 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``and'' after
                the semicolon;
                    (B) by striking paragraph (2);
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
                (2); and
                    (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by
                subparagraph (C), by striking ``as determined by the
                court.'' and inserting ``as determined by the court, in
                an amount that does not exceed the lesser of--
                    ``(A) $100,000; or
                    ``(B) the amount that is 40 percent of any damages
                awarded under paragraph (1)(A).'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
        subsection:
    ``(d) Class Action Lawsuits.--With respect to a class action
brought by a class made up of consumers against a person who willfully
fails to comply with a requirement imposed under this title, such
person shall be liable to such consumers in such an amount as a court
may determine, except that--
            ``(1) the court may not apply a minimum amount of damages
        for each member of the class;
            ``(2) the total recovery (excluding reasonable attorney's
        fees as determined by the court) of the class may not exceed
        the lesser of--
                    ``(A) $500,000; or
                    ``(B) 1 percent of the net worth of such person;
                and
            ``(3) the costs of the action together with reasonable
        attorney's fees, as determined by the court, may not exceed the
        lesser--
                    ``(A) of $100,000;
                    ``(B) the amount that is 40 percent of any damages
                awarded by a court under this subsection; or
                    ``(C) the sum of the costs of the action and
                reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the court,
                not to exceed the lower of $100,000 or an amount equal
                to 40 percent of actual damages.''.
    (b) Negligent Noncompliance.--Section 617 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681o) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking the period at the end
        and inserting ``, not to exceed the lesser of--
                    ``(A) $100,000; or
                    ``(B) 40 percent of any actual damages determined
                by the court.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Class Action Lawsuits.--With respect to a class action
brought by consumers against a person who negligently fails to comply
with any requirement imposed under this title, such person is liable to
such consumers in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages
sustained by the consumers as a result of the failure, except that the
total recovery (excluding reasonable attorney's fees as determined by
the court) of the class shall not exceed the lesser of--
            ``(1) $500,000;
            ``(2) 1 percent of the net worth of such person; or
            ``(3) the sum of the costs of the action and reasonable
        attorney's fees, as determined by the court, not to exceed the
        lower of $100,000 or an amount equal to 40 percent of actual
        damages.''.
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