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Title V — Pandemic Planning and Guidance for Consumers and Regulators

H.R. 6321 · 116th Congress · Mar 23, 2020 · Lineage

V Pandemic Planning and Guidance for Consumers and Regulators

Sec. 501 Financial Literacy Education Commission Emergency Response

(a)
Purpose— The purpose of this section is to provide financial literacy education, including information on access to banking services and other financial products, for individuals seeking information and resources as they recover from any financial distress caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID–19) outbreak and future major disasters.
(b)
Financial Literacy and Education Commission response to the COVID–19 emergency—
(1)
Special meeting— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (the “Commission”) shall convene a special meeting to discuss and plan assistance related to the financial impacts of the COVID–19 emergency.
(2)
Update of the Commission’s website—
(A)
In general— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall update the website of the Commission with a full list of tools to help individuals recover from any financial hardship as a result of the COVID–19 emergency.
(B)
Specific requirements— In performing the update required under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall—
(i)
place special emphasis on providing an additional set of tools geared towards women, racial and ethnic minorities, veterans, disabled, and LGBTQ+ communities; and
(ii)
provide information in English and Spanish.
(C)
Information from members— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, each Federal department or agency that is a member of the Commission shall provide an update on the website of the Commission disclosing any tools that the department or agency is offering to individuals or to employees of the department or agency related to the COVID–19 emergency.
(3)
Implementation report to Congress— The Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall, jointly and not later than the end of the 30-day period following the date on which the meeting required under paragraph (1) is held and all updates required under paragraph (2) have been completed, report to Congress on the implementation of this section.
(4)
COVID–19 emergency defined— In this subsection, the term “COVID-19 emergency” means the emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) relating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Sec. 502 Interagency pandemic guidance for consumers

(a)
Interagency pandemic guidance—
(1)
Guidance— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the Federal financial regulators shall issue interagency regulatory guidance on preparedness, flexibility, and relief options for consumers in pandemics and major disasters, such as deferment, forbearance, affordable payment plan options, and other options such as delays on debt collections and wage garnishments.
(2)
Updates— The Federal financial regulators shall update the guidance required under paragraph (1) as necessary to keep such guidance current.
(b)
Pandemic preparedness testing—
(1)
In general— Not later than the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the Federal financial regulators shall carry out testing along with the institutions regulated by the Federal financial regulators to determine how effectively such institutions will be able to respond to a pandemic or major disaster.
(2)
Report— After the end of each test required under paragraph (1), the Federal financial regulators shall, jointly, issue a report to Congress containing the results of such test and any regulatory or legislative recommendations the regulators may have to increase pandemic preparedness.
(c)
Definitions— In this section:
(1)
Federal financial regulators— The term Federal financial regulators means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(2)
Major disaster— The term major disaster means a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), under which assistance is authorized under section 408 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5174), or section 501 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5191).

Sec. 503 SEC pandemic guidance for investors

(a)
Pandemic guidance—
(1)
Guidance— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall issue regulatory guidance on preparedness, flexibility, relief, and investor protection for investors in pandemics and major disasters, including relevant disclosures.
(2)
Updates— The Commission shall update the guidance required under paragraph (1) as necessary to keep such guidance current.
(b)
Pandemic preparedness testing—
(1)
In general— Not later than the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall carry out testing along with the entities regulated by the Commission to determine how effectively such entities will be able to respond to a pandemic or major disaster.
(2)
Report— After the end of each test required under paragraph (1), the Commission shall issue a report to Congress containing the results of such test and any regulatory or legislative recommendations the Commission may have to increase pandemic preparedness.
(c)
Major disaster defined— In this section, the term major disaster means a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), under which assistance is authorized under section 408 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5174), or section 501 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5191).

Sec. 504 Updates of the Pandemic Influenza Plan and National Planning Frameworks

(a)
In general— Not later than one year following the end of the Declaration of the National Emergency, the President shall ensure that the Pandemic Influenza Plan (2017 Update) and the National Planning Frameworks are updated. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Federal financial regulators, shall provide to the President the following:
(1)
An assessment of the effectiveness of current plans and strategies to address the economic, financial, and monetary issues arising from a pandemic or other disaster.
(2)
A description of the most significant challenges to protecting the economy, the financial system, and consumers, during a pandemic or other disaster, including the specific challenges experienced by women, racial and ethnic minorities, diverse-owned businesses, veterans, and the disabled.
(3)
Actions that could be carried out in a crisis, as defined by the preparedness plans described in subsection (a), such as the following:
(A)
Significant increases of unemployment insurance benefits (including payment amounts) for all workers under a certain income threshold, including freelancers and the self-employed, during the crisis.
(B)
Loan deference, modification, and forbearance mechanisms of all consumer and business payments, allowing long-term repayment plans and excluding no industries, during the crisis.
(C)
Suspension of foreclosure and eviction proceedings taken against individuals or businesses during the crisis.
(D)
Suspension of all negative consumer credit reporting during the crisis.
(E)
Prohibition of debt collection, repossession, and garnishment of wages during the crisis.
(F)
Provision of emergency homeless assistance during the crisis.
(G)
An increase in Community Development Block Grants during the crisis and to improve community response.
(H)
Reduction of hurdles in the form of waivers and authorities to modify existing housing and homelessness programs to facilitate response to the crisis.
(I)
Expand the size standards for eligible businesses with access to no-interest or low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration during the crisis.
(J)
Remove the size standard limits on eligible businesses with access to no-interest or low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration during the crisis for businesses that agree to maintain their employment workforce and preserve benefits during the crisis.
(K)
Support for additional no-interest or low-interest loans for small businesses through the Small Business Administration during the crisis.
(L)
Utilization of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to support small businesses as well as low-income communities during the crisis.
(M)
Support for State, territory, and local government financing during the crisis.
(N)
Waiver of matching requirements for municipal governments during the crisis.
(O)
Suspension of requirements relating to minimum distributions for retirement plans and individual retirement accounts for the calendar years of which the crisis is occurring.
(b)
Special consideration for diversity— In issuing the updates required under subsection (a), the President shall ensure that consideration is given as to how to minimize the economic impacts of a crisis on women, minorities, diverse-owned businesses, veterans, and the disabled.
(c)
Making plans public— The updated plans described in subsection (a) shall be made publicly available, but may have classified information redacted.
(d)
Definitions— In this section:
(1)
Declaration of the National Emergency— The term “Declaration of the National Emergency” means the emergency declared by the President under section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191) relating to the COVID–19 pandemic.
(2)
Federal financial regulator— The term “Federal financial regulators” means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.