{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://davidscott.house.gov/blog/?postid=390743", "Improving Your Credit Score", "2014-08-12", "2014", "2014-08", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "David Scott", "S001157", "davidscott.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "About half of all unpaid collections on consumers\u2019 credit reports are medical debts.\u00a0 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a research report earlier this year that found consumers\u2019 credit scores may be overly penalized for medical debt that goes into collections and shows up on their credit report.FICO recently announced that\u00a0would no longer weigh medical debts as part of\u00a0the company's widely-used credit scores. The newer FICO scores will also ignore any collections that have already been paid.\r\nThese changes may not dramatically change your credit score, but it could help secure a better interest rate for a loan.FICO scores are just one type of credit score based on a consumer's credit history.\u00a0In addition to paying bills on time, the CFPB has listed several ways to improve your credit history and also has a link to complain about inaccurate credit reports.Keep track of your credit report by requesting a free credit\u00a0report. Congressman Scott helped pass the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 \u200b(P.L. 108-159) which allowed Americans to request a free credit report from each of the credit reporting bureaus each year. Georgia residents are able to request two\u00a0free credit reports since state law had previously allowed for two reports a year. \u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\nHave a complaint about your credit report? You can\u00a0contact the\u00a0CFPB for assistance at: https://help.consumerfinance.gov/app/creditreporting/ask\u00a0\u00a0What are your experiences\u00a0with checking your credit history?\u00a0Was the information accurate?###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://davidscott.house.gov/blog/?postid=390743"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8111648969352245, "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"}