Maxine Waters proposes consumer-friendly overhaul of credit reporting industry

WASHINGTON - Rep. Maxine Waters on Tuesday called for a consumer-friendly overhaul of the nation's credit reporting system as she brought the chief executives of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to testify before her House committee about what she called a "broken system."

The heads of the three leading credit reporting companies heard bipartisan criticism as Waters, the veteran California Democrat, launched her first major legislative initiative as chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee.

"To credit reporting bureaus, consumers aren't consumers. They are commodities," Waters said, adding that dissatisfied Americans