The House unanimously passed bill HR 5003, better known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemember Act. This bill offers increased protections from debt collectors for servicemembers. The next stage will be review by the Senate.
The bill offers the following very important protections to servicemembers:
- A debt collector cannot involve the servicemember’s chain of command in terms of settlement of the debt.
- A servicemember’s rank cannot be reduced because of the debt.
- A servicemember’s security clearance cannot be reduced or revoked because of the debt.
- Punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice because of the debt is prohibited.
The original article can be found here.