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Legislative Positions
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Support
HR 4952: Improving Seniors Access to Quality Benefits Act
Sponsor: Mike Kelly [R-PA] on 2018-02-06
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr4952
This bill would help remedy a problem known as the “Benchmark Cap,” which penalizes 5.8 million Medicare Advantage enrollees by denying them access to enhanced healthcare benefits based on where they live. Medicare Advantage is an important source of health coverage for over 20 million seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Oppose
HR 5082: Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018
Sponsor: Alex Mooney [R-WV] on 2018-02-23
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr5082
This bill would exempt attorneys and law firms engaged in litigation from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It would also eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority over them, undermining critical consumer protections from lawyers engaging in deceptive and unfair activities when attempting to collect debts.
Oppose
HR 1116: TAILOR Act of 2017
Sponsor: Scott Tipton [R-CO] on 2017-02-16
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1116
This terrible legislation would force consumer and financial regulators to prioritize costs to Wall Street over benefits to the public before taking any action to control financial abuses. It would also empower financial institutions to overturn current and future consumer protections in court.
Oppose
HR 3072: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Examination and Reporting Threshold Act of 2017
Sponsor: Lacy Clay Jr. [D-MO] on 2017-06-27
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr3072
This bill would end the CFPB’s supervision and enforcement authority over banks and credit unions with $10-50 billion in assets (representing two-thirds of the large banks it oversees). With bank earnings at record levels, there’s no excuse for deregulatory efforts like HR 3072, which put our very economy at risk.
Oppose
HR 4861 : Ensuring Quality Unbiased Access to Loans (EQUAL) Act of 2018
Sponsor: Trey Hollingsworth [R-IN] on 2018-01-19
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr4861
HR 4861 exempts payday lenders from the CFPB’s rule to rein in payday loans and nullifies the FDIC’s requirement that banks consider the borrower’s ability to repay before issuing a loan. It would pave the way for banks to issue significantly more abusive loans that trap consumers in debt.
Oppose
HR 2570 : Mortgage Fairness Act of 2017
Sponsor: Bill Posey [R-FL] on 2017-05-19
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr2570
This inappropriately-named piece of legislation would make it easier for banks and lenders to issue risky home mortgages to consumers by allowing lenders to evade existing rules surrounding high-cost mortgage loans and steer homeowners into abusive deals on certain mortgages (especially home equity lines of credit and construction loans).
Oppose
HR 3971 : Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2017
Sponsor: Claudia Tenney [R-NY] on 2017-10-05
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr3971
This bill would make it easier for banks and lenders to issue risky home mortgages to consumers by allowing larger lenders to make high-priced mortgages without requiring mortgagees to deposit funds in escrow to guarantee payment of taxes and homeowners insurance. (Escrow accounts help homeowners reduce their mortgage default risk.)
Oppose
HJ Res 122: A resolution to roll back the CFPB’s payday rule
Sponsor: Dennis Ross [R-FL] on 2017-12-01
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hjres122
This house resolution would roll back a critical rule that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced in 2017 to rein in the payday and high-cost loan industry, giving payday lenders a free pass to continue exploiting financially vulnerable Americans.
Oppose
HR 2396: Privacy Notification Technical Clarification Act
Sponsor: Dave Trott [R-MI] on 2017-05-04
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr2396
This bill would minimize or remove requirements that banks disclose to consumers annually that they can prevent the sharing of their non-public personal information with “nonaffiliated third parties that aren’t selling financial products” (i.e. marketers). If passed, consumers would likely suffer from more intrusive marketing, price discrimination and identity theft.
Oppose
HR 3746 : Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act of 2017
Sponsor: Sean Duffy [R-WI] on 2017-09-12
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr3746
This legislation would allow companies offering credit-related insurance products to avoid Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight. If passed, companies could engage in deceptive and fraudulent practices involving the sale of forced mortgage and auto insurance, credit insurance add-ons and private mortgage insurance.
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 raising a cap on borrowing by Business Development Companies (BCDs), a type of investment company. BDCs are traded on stock exchanges and can take sudden and quick losses in value. The more they borrow, the riskier they become to investors.
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 allow investors to exercise their voting rights as shareholders. This bill would create an untested regulatory framework that would undermine proxy-advisory firms and shareholders that rely on them for unbiased advice.
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 rewards the worst actors in the housing industry. It would eliminate a requirement that lenders making higher-risk mortgages obtain a written appraisal establishing the value of the property being sold. It would also reduce/eliminate civil penalties levied against mortgage lenders/bankers and others who fail to report appraiser misconduct.
Oppose
HR 1153: Mortgage Choice Act
Sponsor: Bill Huizenga [R-MI] on 2017-02-17
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr1153
Post-2008 mortgage crisis, the Dodd-Frank Act created a category of “Qualified Mortgages," those 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 it meaningless, harming consumers and potentially creating another housing crisis.