The U.S. House of Representatives has passed several financial services bills to bolster transparency, literacy, and fair debt collection.
Included in the advanced measures is the Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act, introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), which would establish a digital asset working group ensuring collaboration between regulators and the private sector to foster innovation. Additionally, McHenry noted the measure requires the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish a working group focused on digital assets.
“This is the first step in opening up the dialogue between our regulators and market participants and move to needed clarity,” McHenry said.
The other financial services bills include the Promoting Transparent Standards for Corporate Insiders Act, designed to protect retail investors and the market from illicit insider trading while ensuring the rules governing insider trading are clear, fair, and not prohibitively onerous.
The Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2021 will provide financial incentives to encourage more first-time homebuyers to seek financial literacy counseling, resulting in better outcomes for a traditionally at-risk group of homeowners.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices for Service Members Act prohibits debt collectors from threatening service members with rank reduction, security clearance revocation, or prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice in debt collection activities while maintaining military readiness.