 In the letter initiated by Madigan and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller,
the attorneys general issued a warning to House Speaker John Boehner, House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the effects of H.R. 6139 -- the Consumer
Credit Access, Innovation, and Modernization Act.In effect, the legislation
would undermine the power of individual states to protect their residents from
the high costs of short-term loans and other financial services, including
payday and car title loans and check cashing. These loans typically carry
triple-digit interest rates and can quickly trap consumers in an endless cycle
of debt.
"The legislation is nothing more than a shameless attempt by the payday
lending industry to do an end run around states' decades-long battle to protect
low-income families from becoming trapped in a downward spiral of debt," Madigan
said.
Many states have established a framework of regulation to protect consumers
from the risks associated with payday lenders, installment lenders, car title
lenders, prepaid card issuers and check cashers. The bill threatens to turn back
these protections by giving these non-bank lenders the ability to obtain a
federal charter that would allow them to sidestep more stringent state laws.
[to top of second column] |
Signing on to Madigan and Zoeller's letter were attorneys general
from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho,
Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan]
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