Credit reporting companies would have to remove negative data more quickly and give consumers more tools to dispute information they believe is inaccurate under a package of bills passed by U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.

The legislation, which cleared Democrat-controlled House on a 221-189 vote, calls for major changes in business practices by Equifax Inc., Experian Plc, TransUnion and rival firms. It would also expand the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s power to validate credit scores and prohibit certain practices used to calculate them.

Representative Maxine Waters, the California Democrat who leads the House Financial Services Committee, has made reform of credit reporting companies a priority as part of a broader effort to improve credit access for minority and lower-income consumers. The legislation faces long odds of passage by the Republican-controlled Senate, where some majority lawmakers say the government shouldn’t get involved in managing a private-sector process.

Credit scoring done by companies that gather sensitive information on millions of consumers plays a major role in determining whether people are able to borrow money to pay for things such as homes, cars and college. The credit scoring companies came under public scorn and lawmakers’ scrutiny after a massive data breach at Equifax in 2017 compromised personal data on almost half the U.S. population. The company agreed last year to pay as much as $700 million to resolve federal and state investigations into the cyberattack.