Text of US HB 2498 (2017)

I 115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2498 To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2017 Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PETERS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. LEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. HIMES, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. CROWLEY, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. MENG, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CRIST, and Mr. COFF- MAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2498.IH H2498 rfrederick on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2498 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom from Dis- 2 crimination in Credit Act of 2017’’. 3 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION ON AC- 4 COUNT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GEN- 5 DER IDENTITY. 6 Subsection (a)(1) of section 701 of the Equal Credit 7 Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691) is amended by insert- 8 ing ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 Section 702 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 11 U.S.C. 1691a) is amended— 12 (1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 13 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 14 lowing new subsections: 15 ‘‘(f) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-re- 16 lated identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gen- 17 der-related characteristics of an individual, with or with- 18 out regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. 19 ‘‘(g) The term ‘person’ means a natural person, a 20 corporation, government or governmental subdivision or 21 agency, trust, estate, partnership, cooperative, or associa- 22 tion. 23 ‘‘(h) The terms ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘national ori- 24 gin’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, ‘marital 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2498.IH H2498 rfrederick on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2498 IH status’, or ‘age’, used with respect to an individual, in- 1 cludes— 2 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, national origin, 3 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 4 tus, or age, respectively, of another person with 5 whom the individual is associated or has been associ- 6 ated; and 7 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 8 concerning the race, color, religion, national origin, 9 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 10 tus, or age, respectively, of the individual. 11 ‘‘(i) The term ‘sex’ includes— 12 ‘‘(1) a sex stereotype; 13 ‘‘(2) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 14 condition; and 15 ‘‘(3) sexual orientation or gender identity. 16 ‘‘(j) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex- 17 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 18 ‘‘(k) Any reference to any requirement imposed under 19 this title or any provision of this title shall be deemed to 20 include a reference to the regulations of the Bureau under 21 this title or the provision of this title in question.’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2498.IH H2498 rfrederick on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2498 IH SEC. 4. RELATION TO STATE LAWS. 1 Section 705(a) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act 2 (15 U.S.C. 1691d(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, sexual 3 orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 May 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2498.IH H2498 rfrederick on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS