Bush Signs Bill to Fight Identity Theft

President Bush signed into law Thursday a bill giving consumers additional protection against identity theft and renewing federal credit reporting laws.

The measure, approved by Congress last month, allows consumers to obtain one free credit report a year. Until now, consumers have had to pay for their credit reports, except in certain circumstances, such when they are rejected for credit.

“A credit report is more than a record of past actions; it has great influence over a person’s financial future,” Bush said at a White House ceremony. “People should be able to check their credit report for accuracy and to challenge any errors.”

The measure also makes permanent a ban on states’ passing tougher laws than federal law on gathering consumer credit information. Banking, insurance and retail firms, such as Citigroup Inc., Allstate Corp. and Target Corp., pushed for the extension, saying it was necessary to maintain the ease and availability of consumer credit and boost the economy.

Though they gave the industry the federal dominance over credit law it sought, lawmakers also inserted provisions to guard against the growing crime of identity theft.

The law allows customers to place fraud alerts in their credit reports if they have been victims of identity theft or think they may be. The alerts require consumers to be notified if anyone tries to obtain credit in their name.

To further guard against identity theft, credit card companies will have to check any changes of address with a consumer at his or her old address before issuing a new card on an account.

The measure restricts access to sensitive health information about consumers and prohibits merchants from printing more than the last five digits of a credit card number on a receipt.

The bill extends 1996 provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that prohibit states from enacting tougher laws on the content of credit reports, the responsibilities of those who provide information on a consumer’s credit and the ability of companies to share credit information among their affiliates.

Consumer groups opposed the federal preemption of state laws, saying that states can protect consumers better than the federal government.

“We weren’t able to be as protective as I would like to have been in some areas,” Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) said. Still, he said, the federal preemptions on identity theft were narrowly drawn and the bill provides “better federal standards than before.”