This Act may be cited as the Federal Employee Financial Protection Act of 2026.

(a) In general Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681cU.S. Code — Title 15, Section 1681cView official source on GovInfo) is amended by adding at the end the following: (i) Government shutdowns (1) In general A consumer reporting agency may not make any consumer report containing an adverse item of information related to a late payment or nonpayment on an account of a covered employee that occurred during a covered period. (2) Treatment of certain payments For purposes of making any consumer report, a consumer reporting agency shall treat any late payment or nonpayment described in paragraph (1) as if the consumer had made the payment. (3) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Covered employee The term covered employee means any employee of the Federal Government who is furloughed or required to work without pay during a lapse in appropriations. (B) Covered period The term covered period means any period during which there is a lapse in appropriations resulting in delayed compensation to a covered employee.. (b) Rulemaking Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall issue rules to carry out the amendment made by this section.

It is the sense of Congress that private lenders should— (1) provide temporary forbearance or payment flexibility to covered employees (as defined in section 605(i)(3) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act); (2) waive late fees and penalties incurred during the covered period (as defined in such section 605(i)(3)); and (3) refrain from furnishing adverse credit information related to late payments or nonpayments during the covered period.