S.Amdt. 1097

SA 1097. Mr. LEVIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1058 proposed by Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Shelby) to
the bill H.R. 627, to amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair
and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an
open end

[[Page S5445]]

consumer credit plan, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie
on the table; as follows:

At the end of title V, add the following new section:

SEC. 503. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR DEBT COLLECTION.

(a) Rules on Statute of Limitations.--
(1) Proposed rule.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission, in consultation with the Federal banking
regulators, shall publish a proposed rule in the Federal
Register establishing a statute of limitations for the
collection of debt associated with a credit card account
under an open end credit plan after the account has been
closed by the creditor or the cardholder (or the
representative thereof).
(2) Final rule.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal Trade
Commission shall publish a final rule in the Federal Register
on the matter described in paragraph (1).
(b) Contents.--The proposed and final rules issued under
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum--
(1) establish a statute of limitations for--
(A) the collection of funds from a cardholder responsible
for a closed credit card account described in subsection (a);
(B) filing suit in a Federal, State, or local court to
collect debt associated with such a closed credit card
account; and
(C) enforcing a court judgment to collect debt associated
with such a closed credit card account; and
(2) establish when the statute of limitations on debt
associated with a closed credit card account described in
subsection (a) begins to run and, for purposes of court
proceedings, which party has the burden of proof to show
whether the statute of limitations has expired.
(c) Applicability.--The final rule issued under this
section shall limit the right of any creditor to collect,
sell, or transfer debt associated with a credit card account
under an open end consumer credit plan after the account has
been closed by the creditor or the cardholder (or the
representative thereof).
(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the terms ``credit card'', ``cardholder'', and ``open
end credit plan'' have the same meanings as in section 103 of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602);
(2) the term ``creditor'' includes--
(A) a creditor, as that term is defined in section 103 of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602); and
(B) a debt collector, as that term is defined in section
803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692a), whether or not such person is the original creditor
with respect to the subject obligation; and
(3) the term ``Federal banking regulators'' means the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the
National Credit Union Administration.
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