Fair Credit for American Hostages Act of 2025
The Fair Credit for American Hostages Act of 2025 would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect certain U.S. nationals from negative credit-reporting items that arise while they are unlawfully or wrongly detained abroad or held hostage abroad. Specifically, once a consumer reporting agency (CRA) authenticates detention or hostage documentation for a covered consumer, the CRA would be barred from furnishing any adverse information in that consumer’s report that dates to the period of detention or hostageholding. The new rule is triggered only when the CRA can verify the detention/hostage status with designated U.S. government authorities. In short, the bill aims to shield hostages and unlawfully detained individuals from credit-report consequences tied to their detention period, while leaving the rest of a consumer’s credit history unaffected outside that time window. The bill creates a new section (605D) in the FCRA and sets up a process for documenting and authenticating detention or hostage status, limiting the prohibition to adverse information dated during the relevant time period. It relies on determinations under existing statutes and the Hostage Recovery operations to identify who qualifies as a “covered consumer.”
Key Points
- 1New protection under the FCRA: A new 605D section prohibits consumer reporting agencies from furnishing adverse items in a consumer’s report that arise from the period when the consumer was unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage abroad, once authenticated documentation is provided.
- 2Covered consumer defined: A “covered consumer” is a U.S. national who is either unlawfully or wrongly detained abroad (per the Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act) or taken hostage abroad (per the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell).
- 3Detention/hostage documentation: The bill requires a formal documentation package that certifies status, identifies the detention/hostage period, and is authenticated by either the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs or the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell.
- 4Authentication triggers protection: If a CRA can authenticate the detention/hostage documentation, it may not furnish adverse information dating during the detention/hostage period.
- 5Technical amendment and scope: The bill adds 605D to the FCRA and clarifies where this protection applies, including the relevant cross-references to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s existing provisions (e.g., section 603(p)) governing who furnishes consumer reports.