WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 7, 2006) – Congress should act to protect the people protecting us – our soldiers, sailors and aviators – from predators who trap them in loans with annual interest rates as high as 400 percent.

Michael D. Calhoun, CRL president, joined Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) and Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) to endorse an amendment to cap payday loans to service members at 36 percent. That is the limit many states impose in their usury statutes to ban loan-sharking.

Payday borrowers, using a signed a postdated check as collateral, often end up paying more than $800 to borrow $340.

The Senate amendment must now survive a House-Senate conference committee.

The Pentagon recently issued a report in which they support a 36-percent cap, and said these payday lenders are hurting military preparedness at a time when our nation is at war with international terrorism.

"The Center for Responsible Lending, with dozens of civil rights and consumer groups, strongly supports the Department of Defense's efforts to get this amendment adopted," said Calhoun at the Capitol Thursday. "That's enough. Enough gouging of our service members. Enough misery and worries on our military posts and on the battlefield. Enough trapping soldiers in debt."

For more information: Michael Flagg, (202) 349-1862 or mike.flagg@responsiblelending.org; or Sharon Reuss, (919) 313-8527, sharon.reuss@responsiblelending.org.