the lives of American consumers. Most creditors, for example, review these reports to make decisions about whether to extend credit to consumers and what terms and conditions to offer them. As such, information contained in these reports affects whether a person is able to get a private education loan to pay for college costs, to secure a mortgage loan to buy a home, or to obtain a credit card, as well as the terms and conditions under which consumer credit products or services are offered to them. (E) Credit reports are also increasingly used for many noncredit decisions, including by landlords to determine whether to rent an apartment to a prospective tenant and by employers to decide whether to hire potential job applicants or to offer a promotion to existing employees. (F) CRAs have a statutory obligation to verify independently the accuracy and completeness of information included on the reports that they provide. (G) The nationwide CRAs have failed to establish and follow reasonable procedures, as required by existing law, to establish the maximum level of accuracy of information contained on consumer reports. Given the repeated failures of these CRAs to comply with accuracy requirements on their own, legislation is intended to provide them with detailed guidance improving the accuracy and completeness of information contained in consumer reports, including procedures, policies, and practices that these CRAs should already be following to ensure full compliance with their existing obligations. (H) The presence of inaccurate or incomplete information on these reports can result in substantial financial and emotional harm to consumers. Credit reporting errors can lead to the loss of a new employment opportunity or a denial of a promotion in an existing job, stop someone from being able to access credit on favorable terms, prevent a person from obtaining rental housing, or even trigger mental distress. (I) Current industry practices impose an unfair burden of proof on consumers trying to fix errors on their