Bad news today from the House Energy & Commerce Committee Re:
HR3126
Colleagues,
The House Energy & Commerce Committee late this afternoon passed
amendments to HR 3126, the Consumer Financial Services
Protection Act. The committee made several changes to enhance
the powers of the FTC. A manager's amendment, offered by
Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), would increase the ability of the
FTC to enforce statutes where there is joint authority. But the
committee did not change the language that Rep. Barney Frank
added to transfer jurisdiction of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
to the new agency which we had hoped for. Rep. Frank did say
during his markup that he was concerned only about financial
credit reports, not background checks and other nonfinancial
parts of the FCRA. However, he didn't appear to be aware the
other functions covered by the FCRA would be affected. He did
say he'd work with others to try to fix the bill before it went
to the floor
Another significant change made by the Energy & Commerce
Committee today was to replace the single director with a
commission. It would operate as an independent regulatory
agency, much like the FTC. As soon as the amendment was adopted,
Rep. Frank issued a statement opposing the commission idea, as
below.
We would have preferred that the House Energy & Commerce
Committee had kept the FCRA under the authority of the FTC with
whom we have a positive relationship and they understand our
professional needs. The NCISS Legislative Committee will
continue to monitor this bill and the dozens of other proposed
legislation that could have an adverse affect on private
investigators.
Keeping the profession informed,
Jimmie Mesis
NCISS Legislative Chairman
jim@nciss.org
**********
Remember, your donations are critical to our mission and
continued success. Contributions in any amount are greatly
appreciated and may be sent to:
NCISS Legislative Fund
7501 Sparrows Point Blvd.
Baltimore, Maryland 21219
|
 |
