Utilities can now report your rent and bills to credit bureaus—and they're shielded from lawsuits.
H.R. 5402 — Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2026 · Filed by Young Kim (R-CA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 16, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to permit utility companies, telecommunications firms, and landlords to report payment history on rent, utility bills, and phone/internet services to credit reporting agencies. It also shields these companies from liability for doing so, and requires a Government Accountability Office study within two years on how this reporting affects consumer credit scores.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is twofold: (1) it affirmatively permits utility, telecom, and landlord payment data to flow into credit reports, and (2) it shields those entities from liability for doing so under FCRA § 623(c). The core function is expanding the universe of data available to credit bureaus while protecting the data furnishers.
What the text implies
- Utility and telecom companies gain a new incentive to report payment data selectively—reporting only good-paying customers to boost their credit scores while withholding delinquent accounts, creating a two-tier credit system.
- The liability shield in § 623(c) may insulate companies from FCRA claims even if they report inaccurate or incomplete payment information, reducing enforcement pressure.
- Consumers with subsidized housing (HUD-assisted rent) now have that payment history reported to credit bureaus, potentially affecting their creditworthiness in ways not previously disclosed.
- The bill permits but does not require reporting, meaning adoption will be uneven; companies serving affluent customers may report selectively while those serving lower-income populations may not, widening credit-access disparities.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Consumers with strong payment histories on utilities and rent gain access to credit-building opportunities and potentially lower borrowing costs; however, those with payment difficulties face expanded reporting of delinquencies to credit bureaus, potentially harming their credit scores and access to credit. The bill permits but does not require reporting, leaving companies free to cherry-pick favorable accounts.
Who stands to gain
- utility companies (gas, electric)
- telecommunications companies
- credit reporting agencies
- consumer finance lenders (benefit from expanded credit data)
Named in the bill
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Section 623 FCRA, Consumer reporting agencies, Energy utility firms, Utility and telecommunication firms, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comptroller General of the United States, Congress
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Sep 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 16, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
- Jun 30, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jun 30, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 28 - 23”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
8 lobbying clients named this bill on 9 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,355,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 13 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 88% of bills with at least one filing.
Young Kim, the sponsor, reported $1,636,312 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle. $1,500 of that came from 1 PAC tied to these lobbying clients.
- Experian North America — $845,000 on 2 filings
- Trans Union LLC — $520,000 on 1 filing
- Equifax, Inc — $500,000 on 1 filing
- Plaid Inc. — $190,000 on 1 filing
- American Fintech Council — $110,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,286 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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