# 119-s-656: Fair Credit for American Hostages Act of 2025

119-s-656, Fair Credit for American Hostages Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-07).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-656
- As of: 2026-10-07
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-656
- Congress: 119
- Title: Fair Credit for American Hostages Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-07

## Summary

**Stops negative credit reporting for U.S. nationals who were unlawfully detained or taken hostage abroad.** It would add Section 605D to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to bar adverse credit entries that date from a documented period of unlawful or wrongful detention or hostage status abroad. - Covered consumers: U.S. nationals who can show authenticated "detention or hostage documentation" would not have adverse items from the detention period appear on their consumer reports. Authentication must come from the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs or the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell. - Consumer reporting agencies: Agencies subject to the FCRA would be prohibited from furnishing consumer reports that include any adverse item tied to the documented detention timeframe. - Lenders and creditors: Those who rely on consumer reports would not receive adverse items from the covered detention period, which could affect credit decisions.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2025-02-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Block bad credit for hostages: benefit, low. If enacted, consumer reporting agencies would not be allowed to include adverse credit items that date to when a U.S. national was unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage. You would need to provide detention or hostage paperwork that shows the time you were detained and is authenti…

## Related bills

- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-837: A resolution designating the week of August 22 through August 30, 2026, as "National Park Week".
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.
- 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California.

## Sources
- [119-s-656 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/656)

## Related
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-837: A resolution designating the week of August 22 through August 30, 2026, as "Nat…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-837)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-656 (as of 2026-10-07).