WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the Senate voted today to include his bipartisan legislation protecting servicemembers from predatory debt collectors in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – the country’s annual defense bill. The Senate voted to add the legislation to the National Defense Bill by a vote of 95-2.
Brown is a cosponsor of Senator Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act, along with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Ted Budd (R-NC). The amendment would put in place restrictions on the types of communications debt collectors can use to contact servicemembers.
“Servicemembers are routinely threatened and harassed by debt collectors, adding to the stress of our military families,” said Brown. “The women and men who serve our country sacrifice enough – they shouldn’t have their service used against them by predatory debt collectors. This bipartisan bill will help to protect our military servicemembers’ finances and their peace of mind.”
To help protect servicemembers from predatory debt collectors, the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act:
- Prohibits debt collectors from making threats of rank reduction, revocation of security clearance, or prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice;
- Requires the Government Accountability Office to report the impact this amendment will have on military readiness and national security, including the extent covered members with security clearances would be impacted by uncollected debt.