{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mcbrides-bipartisan-bill-protect-delaware-consumers-credit-repair-scammers", "Rep. McBride\u2019s Bipartisan Bill to Protect Delaware Consumers From Credit Repair Scammers Introduced in the U.S. Senate", "2026-03-25", "2026", "2026-03", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Sarah McBride", "M001238", "mcbride.house.gov", "mcbride", "https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2014 Last week, the Ending Scam Credit Repair Act (ESCRA) \u2014 bipartisan legislation originally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Sarah McBride (DE-AL) and Young Kim (CA-40) \u2014 was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The bipartisan, bicameral legislation aims to protect consumers in Delaware and across the country by cracking down on fraudulent practices in the credit repair industry.\n\n\u201cThe credit repair industry is full of many bad actors who prey on Delawareans with low credit scores, offering quick fixes and delivering nothing but empty promises,\u201d said Rep. McBride. \u201cOur bipartisan, now bicameral, Ending Scam Credit Repair Act would stop these scammers from taking advantage of consumers when they are most vulnerable while increasing transparency and accountability. I\u2019m grateful to Senators Coons and Murkowski for introducing the Senate companion bill, and I look forward to working across our respective chambers to get this commonsense solution over the finish line and protect consumers from these harmful practices.\u201d\n\nThe Senate introduction of ESCRA comes as the Federal Trade Commission began issuing more than $10.9 million in refunds last week to Americans who were scammed by a deceptive credit repair operation \u2014 underscoring the urgent need for stronger consumer protections.\n\nThe Ending Scam Credit Repair Act would prohibit Credit Repair Organizations (CRO) from charging consumers until six months after they\u2019ve provided proof that their credit score has improved while also increasing civil penalties for violations. The bill prohibits CROs from \u201cjamming\u201d financial institutions with duplicative requests, which has prevented consumer reporting agencies and data furnishers from addressing legitimate credit report issues. The legislation has earned broad support from consumer advocates, industry leaders, and elected officials in Delaware and across the country.\n\nESCRA was the first piece of legislation introduced by Rep. McBride in 2025 \u2014 and the first bill introduced by any freshman House Democrat in the 119th Congress. Last July, Rep. McBride testified before the Committee on Financial Services in support of ESCRA.\n\nFull text of the House bill can be found here.\n\nFull text of the Senate bill can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-17T06:10:29Z", "2026-05-17T06:12:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mcbrides-bipartisan-bill-protect-delaware-consumers-credit-repair-scammers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7448678370565176, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}