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HR 4347 114th Congress House

Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act

Official title: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to extend the provisions of that Act to cover a debt collector who is collecting debt owed to a State or local … Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to extend the provisions of that Act to cover a debt collector who is collecting debt owed to a State or local government, to index award amounts under such Act for inflation, to provide for civil injunctive relief for violations of such Act, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 7, 2016 Introduced by: Meeks, Gregory W. Democratic · New York See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Civil actions and liabilityDebt collectionDisaster relief and insuranceInflation and pricesPublic contracts and procurement
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This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 7, 2016
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Jan 7, 2016
Introduced in House
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 Latest action January 7, 2016

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act

This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to:

  • cover debt owed to a state, and
  • require the Consumer Financial Protection Board to prescribe a percentage increase based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in order to index annually for inflation civil damages awarded for abusive practices by a debt collector.

The bill also empowers the court to award injunctive relief for violations of the Act.

The Department of the Treasury may not contract with any debt collector or other private party to recoup overpayments of disaster assistance to an individual or household by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4347: Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4347/
MLA
"H.R. 4347: Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4347/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 4347, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4347/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 4347: Debt Collection Practices Harmonization Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4347/)
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