House Passes ACA-Supported Gramm-Leach-Bliley Reforms

On April 14, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3506 by voice vote on the Suspension Calendar, creating a positive policy step forward for our industry.  H.R. 3506, which was sponsored by Representatives Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and Dennis Moore (D-KS), removes burdensome requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).

The legislation would waive an annual privacy notice requirement under the GLBA for companies that either are prohibited from sharing consumer information because of other federal laws or don't change their privacy notice from the year before.  In other words, members who are covered by the GLBA (such as debt purchasers) will not have to send privacy notices mandated by the Act because they are prohibited from sharing information under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  This reform will save our members subject to the GLBA considerable money in production and mailing costs without any decrease in consumer protection.

This progress is a tremendous victory for ACA International's members, our sister organizations, and the industry at large.  For the past few months our energy has been devoted to protecting members' interests by advocating against harmful legislation.  ACA is very grateful for the leadership of Reps. Paulsen and Moore, to Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Ranking Republican Spencer Bachus for moving this issue forward in a bipartisan fashion, to DBA International for their work in educating and building support for the proposal, and to all the ACA members who advocated on behalf of this bill.

Now that the House has approved H.R. 3506, the measure moves to the Senate for consideration, where identical language must also be passed before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law.  While House passage of H.R. 3506 is a significant achievement, work remains to be done to make this bill law.

We must also continue to focus on our efforts to protect the industry from harmful legislation.  We recently sent a Call to Action requesting that ACA members send letters to their Senators opposing Senator Dodd's proposed Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP), and your engagement is still needed.  Information on the proposed BCFP and the Call to Action can be found on ACA's Legislation Action Center. It is imperative that your voice is heard so that your Senators know how this legislation will negatively impact your employees and your business.  Thank you for your participation!

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