H.R. 7588

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7588 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7588

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the 
attestation of certain information as part of the consumer complaint 
submission process, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 17, 2026

Mr. Barr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the 
attestation of certain information as part of the consumer complaint 
submission process, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB's 
Complaint Database Act''.

SEC. 2. COLLECTING AND TRACKING COMPLAINTS.

Section 1013(b)(3) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 
(12 U.S.C. 5493(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(E) Consumer attestation.--
``(i) In general.--The Director shall 
require, using such verification mechanisms as 
the Director determines appropriate, each 
person who submits a complaint to the unit 
established under this paragraph to attest, 
under penalty of perjury, that--
``(I) the information and 
documentation provided in the complaint 
is true and accurate to the best of the 
consumer's knowledge;
``(II) the complaint is being 
submitted directly by--
``(aa) the consumer; or
``(bb) a representative 
authorized to act on the behalf 
of the consumer who provides 
sufficient proof of 
identification and a written 
document signed by the consumer 
that permits the third party to 
act on the behalf of the 
consumer specifically as it 
relates to submitting a 
complaint to the Bureau; and
``(III) the consumer directly 
informed the covered person who is 
required to respond to complaints under 
subsection (b) and (c) of section 1034 
to which the complaint relates of the 
issue about which the consumer is 
submitting the complaint not less than 
60 days before submitting the complaint 
to the Bureau.
``(ii) Notification requirement.--If the 
Director finds, when carrying out clause (i), 
that a complaint submitted in the name of a 
consumer was not submitted by such consumer or 
by a representative authorized to act on the 
behalf of such consumer, the Director shall to 
the degree practicable--
``(I) inform the consumer in whose 
name the complaint was filed that such 
complaint was submitted in their name, 
without their authorization; and
``(II) provide to the covered 
person who is required to respond to 
complaints under subsection (b) and (c) 
of section 1034 to whom the complaint 
relates the name of the person who 
submitted the complaint without the 
authorization of the consumer.
``(iii) Sufficient proof of identification 
defined.--The term `sufficient proof of 
identification' means information or 
documentation that identifies a protected 
consumer and a protected consumer's 
representative and includes--
``(I) a social security number or a 
copy of a social security card issued 
by the Social Security Administration;
``(II) a certified or official copy 
of a birth certificate issued by the 
entity authorized to issue the birth 
certificate; or
``(III) a copy of a driver's 
license, an identification card issued 
by the motor vehicle administration, or 
any other government issued 
identification.
``(F) Closure of duplicative, frivolous or 
unauthorized complaints.----
``(i) In general.--A covered person who is 
required to respond to complaints under 
subsection (b) and (c) of section 1034 that 
receives a consumer complaint from the unit 
established under this paragraph may, upon 
reasonable determination, close such complaint 
without further action if--
``(I) the complaint, as determined 
by such covered person--
``(aa) is duplicative of a 
previously submitted and 
resolved complaint submitted by 
the same consumer relating to 
the same issue;
``(bb) is frivolous or 
lacking a basis in fact;
``(cc) was not submitted by 
the consumer or an individual 
authorized to act on the behalf 
of the consumer; or
``(dd) was submitted for a 
fraudulent or misleading 
purpose;
``(II) such covered person was not 
directly informed by the consumer of 
the issue about which the consumer 
submitted the complaint not less than 
60 days before the consumer submitted 
the complaint; or
``(III) such covered person was 
directly informed by the consumer of 
the issue about which the consumer 
submitted the complaint and such 
covered person responded to such 
consumer in a manner that remedied the 
issue raised by the consumer; or
``(ii) Recording.--If a covered person who 
is required to respond to complaints under 
subsection (b) and (c) of section 1034 closes a 
complaint under clause (i), such covered person 
shall notify the unit established under this 
paragraph of such closure and the reason for 
such closure and such unit shall record such 
information in the database established under 
this paragraph.
``(G) Confidentiality.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Bureau shall ensure 
that narrative content included in complaints 
submitted by consumers to the unit established 
under this paragraph and narrative content 
included in responses from covered persons who 
are required to respond to complaints under 
subsection (b) and (c) of section 1034 who 
receive complaints from the unit established 
under this paragraph remain confidential and 
are not published or made publicly viewable.
``(ii) Aggregation of data.--The Bureau may 
publish aggregated data about complaints 
received from consumers and analyses of trends 
in such complaints if such data and analyses do 
not include personally identifiable information 
or specific narrative content that could 
reasonably be linked to an individual consumer 
or covered person who is required to respond to 
complaints under subsection (b) and (c) of 
section 1034.''.
<all>