Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Tim Scott And Joe Manchin Join Forces On Bill To Help ‘Invisible’ Americans Build Credit Scores

Republican Sen. Tim Scott joined forces with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin to introduce a bill Wednesday that would make it easier for “invisible” American consumers to build credit scores.

The legislation, entitled the Credit Access and Inclusion Act, would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow property owners and telecom providers to report “certain positive consumer credit information” to credit reporting agencies, according to the bill. If a consumer makes payments promptly, it will count toward their credit score.

“If you pay your bills on time, your credit score should reflect it,” Scott, a ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Americans shouldn’t be held back from purchasing a home, financing their education, or pursuing their dreams simply because their on-time payments don’t happen to count towards their credit scores. This bill will remove needless barriers and help hardworking Americans gain access to credit.”

Roughly 26 million American consumers are “credit invisible,” meaning they have such limited credit records or traditional payment history that they do not have a credit score or their score does not fully reflect their debt repayment history, according to the National Credit Union Association. Not having a credit score can make it challenging for people to buy a home or car or get a job, according to LendingTree.

The Credit Access and Inclusion Act enables credit agencies to gather payment information like rent, internet, phone, electricity and utility payments, according to the bill. It would expand credit histories by incorporating these payments not traditionally included in credit reporting, thereby generating credit scores for consumers previously considered “credit invisible.”

“Good credit is a gatekeeper to the American dream. However, our current system denies many individuals who pay their bills on time the opportunity to establish a credit score,” Senator Manchin told the DCNF. “This bipartisan legislation would remove regulatory barriers and allow additional data, such as utility and rental payments, to be used to build credit. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense bill and help the millions of people in West Virginia and across the country who are ‘credit invisible.’”

Scott introduced the Credit Score Competition Act in 2017, legislation to include “credit invisible” consumers in the housing market, according to his website. He also introduced the Building Credit Access for Veterans Act in 2021, which would increase options for credit scoring and expand reliable housing accessibility for American veterans and current servicemembers, according to his website.