Dear Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters:
The undersigned trade associations support H.R. 601, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act, authored by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and cosponsored by 51 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives. We urge members of the Committee to work together to send this important legislation to the full House and eventually to the President for his signature.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for the first time created an explicit privacy regime for those covered by the law. A key element of this regime is the requirement to provide customers copies of privacy notices every year, even if privacy policies do not change. These notices have become somewhat notorious for confusing customers with several pages of small-print legalese, as mandated by financial regulators.
There is broad agreement that repeatedly flooding consumers with complicated notices, usually restating a policy that has not changed in years, has little value for either customers or financial institutions. In fact, customers have become so inured to the notices that they are largely discarded unread immediately upon receipt.
H.R. 601 would greatly improve this regime by ensuring that customers have access to privacy policies including a paper notice if they choose to receive one. However, institutions will no longer be required to mail an annual paper notice so long as their policy is unchanged and the notice is available online and upon request, savings millions of pounds of paper every year.
This legislation is a common-sense improvement that will help consumers. Having unanimously passed the House in previous Congresses, the bill has consistent broad bipartisan support. We appreciate your efforts on this issue and look forward to working with you and your colleagues to better serve consumers.
March 23, 2015
The Honorable Jeb Hensarling, Chairman
The Honorable Maxine Waters, Ranking Member
Committee on Financial Services
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters:
The undersigned trade associations support H.R. 601, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act, authored by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer and cosponsored by 51 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives. We urge members of the Committee to work together to send this important legislation to the full House and eventually to the President for his signature.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for the first time created an explicit privacy regime for those covered by the law. A key element of this regime is the requirement to provide customers copies of privacy notices every year, even if privacy policies do not change. These notices have become somewhat notorious for confusing customers with several pages of small-print legalese, as mandated by financial regulators.
There is broad agreement that repeatedly flooding consumers with complicated notices, usually restating a policy that has not changed in years, has little value for either customers or financial institutions. In fact, customers have become so inured to the notices that they are largely discarded unread immediately upon receipt.
H.R. 601 would greatly improve this regime by ensuring that customers have access to privacy policies including a paper notice if they choose to receive one. However, institutions will no longer be required to mail an annual paper notice so long as their policy is unchanged and the notice is available online and upon request, savings millions of pounds of paper every year.
This legislation is a common-sense improvement that will help consumers. Having unanimously passed the House in previous Congresses, the bill has consistent broad bipartisan support. We appreciate your efforts on this issue and look forward to working with you and your colleagues to better serve consumers.
Sincerely,
American Bankers Association
American Financial Services Association
Consumer Bankers Association
Credit Union National Association
Financial Services Roundtable
Independent Community Bankers of America
Midsize Bank Coalition of America
Mortgage Bankers Association
National Association of Federal Credit Unions