Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Servicemembers’ Credit Monitoring Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to expand free credit monitoring for all servicemembers and their families. Current eligibility is limited to active-duty servicemembers and National Guard members.
“Our service members and their families put so much on the line to protect us and our way of life, yet their sacrifices leave them more vulnerable to financial fraud,” said Senator Cramer. “Ensuring military families have full access to credit monitoring services will help keep their information secure.”
“The brave men and women of our military represent the best of us and sacrifice so much in order to keep our country safe. We need to make sure we’re doing all we can to support them,” said Senator Klobuchar. “By making free credit monitoring available for all servicemembers and their families, this bipartisan legislation will help provide peace of mind to those in uniform and military families when it comes to their financial security.”
Stakeholders supporting the legislation include The Military Coalition, 24 of their servicemember organizations, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
“The current law, known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, provides a safety net for most but not for all of our uniformed services as we would intend. The key to oversight is to expand the current law to include all servicemembers – a course of action TMC has long supported. We appreciate that this legislation also expands credit monitoring coverage to spouses and dependents of uniformed servicemembers,” said Jack Du Teil, President of The Military Coalition.
“Congress has long recognized that free credit reporting for active-duty military can help keep service members informed about their financial health and offer some peace of mind while they focus on their mission. This legislation is a welcome expansion of those efforts that we are proud to support, providing more help to more service members and their families,” said TransUnion.
“We appreciate the many sacrifices made by our military service members and their families, and we are committed to helping them live their financial best by providing the tools that minimize their risk of fraud or identity theft. We recognize the burden of service not only lies on the shoulders of the service members but their families as well,” said Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax.
Click here for bill text.
Background:
A recent report by the Federal Trade Commission found active-duty consumers and their spouses and dependents file a similar number of fraud and identification theft reports.
This legislation builds on a provision in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which requires credit reporting agencies to provide free electronic credit monitoring services to active-duty military and National Guard members.