Congress restores rules to stop unfair debt collection
S.J.Res. 141 — A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to the withdrawal of the rule relating to "Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F); Deceptive and Unfair Collection of Medical Debt". · Filed by Raphael Warnock (D-GA) · Introduced Mar 19, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
A rule that removed protections for people with medical debt was withdrawn. This resolution stops that withdrawal. It brings back the old protections. The protections ban debt collectors from using tricks. They also ban unfair methods to collect medical debts.
Who it affects
People who owe medical debt are affected. Debt collection companies are affected. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is affected.
One thing to notice
The bill restores rules that were taken away. It puts back protections that stopped debt collectors from using tricks on medical debt.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Mar 19, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 19, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
- Apr 27, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discharged, by petition, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 802(c)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — A government agency that makes rules to protect people from unfair money practices
- medical debt — Money people owe for doctor visits, hospital care, and other health services
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,623 characters) on Apr 5, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,206 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-17.
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