Chamber Urges Lawmakers to Protect Credit System

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce today urged Congress to extend the federal preemptions contained in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Citing the results of a Chamber-commissioned study that show FCRA has led to an increase in consumer access to credit and lower interest rates for borrowers, the Chamber argued reauthorizing FCRA's existing provisions is vital to the nation's economy.

"More people have access to credit and they are paying less for it," said Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president. "Since its enactment, FCRA has led to greater competition, and increased objectivity and fairness in America's credit markets. The main beneficiary of the move away from fragmented, local credit markets is the American consumer."

The Chamber unveiled the results of a study on FCRA, conducted by the Information Policy Institute, at a forum held today by the National Chamber Foundation.

Among the points the study highlighted, FCRA has led to lower mortgage rates and better access to credit and an increase in access to credit for traditionally underserved populations. Specifically, minority home ownership rose from 34 to 47 percent between 1983 and 2001, and the number of African-American households with credit cards double from 23.6 percent in 1970 to 55.8 percent in 2001.

The report goes on to show that as many as 41 million people may be denied new credit card accounts if FCRA is not reauthorize.

"Failure to reauthorize FCRA will lead to catastrophic upheaval in our credit markets and national economy," Josten added. "Given how well the current FCRA provisions are working, we urge Congress to move forward on reauthorizing this Act."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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