Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections and legal remedies for servicemembers against coercive debt-collection tactics and adds GAO oversight, while imposing compliance and litigation costs on collectors and modest taxpayer/government resource costs.
Servicemembers and recently separated members (military personnel and veterans) are protected from debt-collector threats that could demote them, coerce career-harming actions, or threaten security clearances; improper threats are made an explicit unfair practice, giving covered members clearer legal remedies.
Prohibiting threats to revoke security clearances helps protect covered members' access to classified work and their civilian employment prospects after service.
Requires an independent GAO analysis of how the law affects delivery of information to covered members, giving Congress early visibility to spot implementation problems and fix them before they cause harm.
Debt collectors — including small businesses that collect debts — will face narrower collection tools, new compliance requirements, and higher litigation risk, which raises their operating costs and could be passed on to consumers or taxpayers.
Directing GAO to study and report will consume staff time and resources, may delay other actions, and imposes modest costs on taxpayers and agency workloads.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Expands the FDCPA to bar debt collectors from threatening to reduce rank, revoke security clearances, or pursue UCMJ prosecution against covered servicemembers and requires a GAO study on effects.
Official title: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to provide enhanced protection against debt collector harassment of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 3, 2026 by Madeleine Dean · Last progress August 3, 2026
Adds servicemember-specific protections to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by defining covered members (including recently separated service members and certain family members) and banning debt collectors from threatening to reduce rank, revoke security clearances, or initiate UCMJ prosecution. It also directs the Government Accountability Office to study how these changes affect delivery of information to covered members, military readiness, and national security.