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Legislative Positions
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Oppose
HR 1699: Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act of 2017
Sponsor: Garland “Andy” Barr [R-KY] on 2017-03-23
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1699
HR 1699 would exempt manufactured housing lenders from requirements that protect borrowers against inappropriately high-cost loans, ultimately making homeownership less accessible and more expensive for those who often can least afford it.
Oppose
HR 4267: The Small Business Credit Availability Act
Sponsor: Steve Stivers [R-OH] on 2017-11-07
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr4267
This bill increases risks to retirees and other investors by greatly expanding the amount that Business Development Companies (BCDs, which are types of investment companies) are permitted to borrow. BDCs are already allowed to borrow a lot and to charge much greater fees to investors than comparable investment products. Permitting…
Oppose
HR 4015: The Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act
Sponsor: Sean Duffy [R-WI] on 2017-10-11
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr4015
Proxy advisory firms provide investors with the research and information they need in order to exercise their voting rights as shareholders within the numerous companies in which they hold shares. This bill is supported by powerful corporate interests seeking to cripple these advisory firms and disempower shareholders by cutting off…
Oppose
HR 3221: Securing Access to Affordable Mortgage Act
Sponsor: David Kustoff [R-TN] on 2017-07-13
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr3221
This bill is a giveaway to the worst actors in the housing industry. It would eliminate a requirement stating that many of the lenders making higher-risk mortgages obtain a written appraisal establishing the value of the property being sold. It would also reduce or eliminate civil penalties levied against bad…
Oppose
HR 1153: Mortgage Choice Act
Sponsor: Bill Huizenga [R-MI] on 2017-02-17
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1153
After the 2008 mortgage crisis, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created a category of “Qualified Mortgages” to recognize mortgages that borrowers would have the ability to repay. HR 1153 would allow risky, high cost mortgage loans with high fees to qualify under this category, effectively rendering…
Oppose
HR 725 : Innocent Party Protection Act
Sponsor: Ken Buck [R-CO] on 2017-01-30
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr725
This bill would allow corporations to move the lawsuits that consumers file against them from state to federal courts. Corporations tend to prefer federal courts because they often have less diverse jurors, more expensive proceedings and longer wait times for trials (leading to the corporation winning the case or to…
Oppose
HR 720: Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act
Sponsor: Lamar Smith [R-TX] on 2017-01-30
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr720
This legislation would make major changes to an existing rule that gives judges the authority to penalize attorneys for filing frivolous lawsuits and would instead mandate penalties even in cases where the lawsuits had merit. In doing so, HR 720 would discourage the filing of civil rights, environmental, employment and…
Oppose
HR 4439: Modernizing Credit Opportunities Act
Sponsor: Trey Hollingsworth [R-IN] on 2017-11-16
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr4439
This bill would allow payday lenders to use sham rent-a-bank arrangements (in which they partner with banks in order to get around state interest rate caps, which the banks can ignore) to make loans at 400+% APR in states where these high rates are currently illegal. In short, the bill…
Oppose
S 488 : JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018
Sponsor: Patrick "Pat" Toomey [R-PA] on 2017-03-01
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s488
Section 201 of this bill would reduce privacy protections for renters by, among other things, allowing landlords to report negative information about their tenants to credit bureaus and other screening agencies, even if the tenants withheld their rent payment for valid reasons (e.g. the landlord’s failure to maintain the property).
Support
S 3149: Do Not Call Act
Sponsor: Catherine Cortez Masto [D-NV] on 2018-6-27
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s3149
This Act is also called the “Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2018,” which is exactly what it would do by mandating imprisonment and fines for robocallers, scammers and other telephone spammers.
Oppose
S 2702 : Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act of 2018
Sponsor: Tim Scott [R-SC] on 2018-04-18
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2702
This bill would infringe on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB’s) authority to address problems with consumer financial products and services (particularly credit-related insurance products but also predatory payday and auto loans, mortgages, etc.)
Support
S 2362 : Control Your Personal Credit Information Act of 2018
Sponsor: John "Jack" Reed [D-RI] on 2018-01-30
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s2362
This legislation would give consumers—not credit bureaus or banks—the ultimate decision-making power over our credit reports. It would require credit bureaus to get consumer permission to release their credit reports to third parties and would help prevent the type of identity theft that occurred in the wake of the Equifax…
Oppose
S 1885: AV START Act
Sponsor: John Thune [R-SD] on 2017-09-28
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s1885
This legislation would exempt millions of driverless cars (autonomous vehicles) from common-sense safety standards, likely resulting in collisions with bicyclists, other automobiles and pedestrians.
AB 2343: Eviction protection for tenants
Sponsor: Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco on 2/3/2018
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2343
Would give renters more time to respond (or move out) when served with an eviction notice.
Support
S. 564: HANGUP Act
Sponsor: Edward J. Markey [D-MA] on 2017-03-08
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s564
The HANGUP Act repeals part of the 2015 Budget Bill that allow collectors of debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States to make robodialed and prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones without consent. It impacts those with student loans, mortgages, veterans loans, farming loans, etc.