WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act yesterday to protect the credit scores of Americans who have been held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. 

“The last thing Americans who have been wrongfully detained abroad need when they come home is a decimated credit score that makes it even harder for them to rebuild their lives,” said Senator Coons. “Unfortunately, that’s proven to be a reality for too many of these Americans, whose obvious inability to make timely payments while held in jail overseas harms their financial standing. The Fair Credit for American Hostages Act is one more way we can support wrongfully detained Americans, American hostages, and their families, and alleviate challenges they encounter when coming home.”

“It’s crazy to think an American held hostage in a foreign nation could return to a ruined credit score and financial turmoil because of their inability to make timely payments,” said Senator Tillis. “This commonsense legislation ensures that Americans wrongfully detained abroad can move forward without worrying about how a poor credit score impacts their financial future.”

Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad often cannot pay their bills while in detention. Upon their release and return to the United States, many find that their credit scores have suffered due to missed payments. This bipartisan legislation would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act by preventing credit rating agencies from considering payments missed due to a wrongful detention or hostage situation. 

This legislation is based on the Debt Bondage Repair Act, which was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 and addressed similar credit issues for victims of human trafficking.

Senator Coons has worked on a number of bills supporting American hostages and wrongful detainees. Last month, the Senate unanimously cleared Senators Coons and Mike Rounds’ (R-S.D.) Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would stop the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on American hostages and wrongful detainees for late tax payments while they are held abroad. This year, President Biden signed into law Senator Coons’ bipartisan legislation to establish March 9 as the annual National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. 

The full text of the bill is available here.