Remarks from Robert Halsch, President and CEO of Greater Bergen Community Action, Inc.:
Greater Bergen Community Action is excited to share great news in proud support of Representative Josh Gottheimer's Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019.
The bipartisan bill is now one step closer to legislative amendment, which in effect, will not only provide a centralized and multi-functional credit resource for all Americans, but will most notably be a transformative opportunity for low-income families most affected by systemic barriers to manage and improve their credit.
Gottheimer's Consumer Credit Protection Bill seeks to ensure that (1) the three credit reporting bureaus work together to create one online portal to provide free and unlimited access to credit reports and scores, (2) Americans have the ability to more easily initiate and resolve disputes with a credit bureau, and (3) Americans have access to information about who the bureaus have sold their data to within the prior two years.
As the federally-designated anti-poverty agency of Bergen County, part of New Jersey's 5th congressional district of which Josh Gottheimer represents, GBCA and our sponsored federal credit union 1st Bergen are advocates for the promise this bill holds as a means to help the most vulnerable in our communities. GBCA and 1st Bergen Federal Credit Union share missions to serve the under-served while fostering self-sustainability. And though 1st Bergen is a low-income designated credit union that provides access to capital for the under-banked and those with impaired credit, our resources are simply just not enough to eradicate persistent economic insecurity alone. We need the help of bills like the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
On behalf of both organizations, we are pleased to act on the opportunities that Josh Gottheimer’s legislation presents for those who need it most – whose credit scores, while still hardworking and dependable people, exclude them from access to credit and borrowing, ultimately forcing them into vicious cycles of detrimental financial decisions.
It is the reality of these issues and a need for resolve that make the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019 good for families, good for communities, and good for the economy.