Indianapolis, Ind. – U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly announced that several new consumer protection provisions he authored are now in effect, allowing Hoosiers to freeze and unfreeze their credit free of charge, set year-long fraud alerts, and more easily manage their credit files. The provisions were enacted in May as part of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which Donnelly negotiated and co-wrote to reduce regulatory burdens on community banks and credit unions and strengthen consumer protections.
Senator Donnelly said, “The Equifax data breach compromised the personal information of more than 145 million Americans, including nearly four million Hoosiers. Hoosiers deserve the ability to monitor and protect their credit files from criminals seeking to steal their identities. Starting today, as a result of the law I helped author, consumers are now in charge of their credit files and can better safeguard their personal information against fraud and identity theft.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2017 Equifax data breach impacted nearly 60% of Indiana’s population, the highest of any state. In total, 145 million Americans, including nearly four million Hoosiers had personal information compromised. Following that incident, Donnelly authored consumer protection provisions that allow consumers, free of charge, to freeze and unfreeze their credit files and set year-long fraud alerts. The provisions also require the Federal Trade Commission and the major credit bureaus to create one-stop webpages where consumers can easily freeze their credit, set fraud alerts, and opt-out of pre-approved credit offers.
Hoosiers can access these webpages by visiting:
- Federal Trade Commission: https://www.identitytheft.gov/Steps
- TransUnion: https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
- Experian: https://www.experian.com/help/
- Equifax: https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/
Donnelly’s bipartisan bill garnered broad support from organizations in Indiana and across the country, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Bankers Association, and the Indiana Credit Union League.
Additional consumer protections Donnelly secured in the bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act include:
- Protecting Servicemembers: This provision provides free credit monitoring for all active-duty servicemembers.
- Defending Veterans Credit: This provision, based on a bipartisan bill Donnelly previously introduced, ensures veterans are not wrongly penalized by medical bill payment delays by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Offering Student Loan Fairness: This provision discharges student loan debt from parent co-signers in the event of student borrower death or bankruptcy. And, another Donnelly-authored provision, based on previously introduced legislation, require Treasury’s Financial Literacy Commission to develop best practices for colleges to assist students making financial decisions related to borrowing.
- Stopping Predatory VA Refinancings: This provision, based on a bill Donnelly helped introduce, protects veterans from targeted predatory home loan practices by requiring lenders to demonstrate a material benefit to consumers when refinancing their mortgage.
- Supporting Lead Remediation: A Donnelly-authored provision requires HUD to report on its lead-based paint hazard prevention and abatement policies, best practices, and enforcement to better protect the health and safety of children. Another provision allows existing Treasury Hardest Hit funds to be used for lead and asbestos remediation.
