CRL in the News

Last week, the Maine House voted on party lines to pass LD 103, which would direct the Department of Education to conduct a review of for-profit colleges and universities to determine whether adequate educational standards are being met. If the for-profit college is not meeting the standards, the state would be authorized to revoke the degree-granting authority of the college...

The battle over payday lending — specifically, how tough U.S. federal rule will be in governing the industry — is heating up as an important deadline looms. Letters favorable to the payday lending industry reportedly are flooding in to authorities before the May 15 cutoff for public comment regarding a proposed policy change. At issue are payday lending rules from...

Ramping up his latest push for the White House, Bernie Sanders is taking aim at high interest rates on credit cards and payday loans. The Vermont senator introduced legislation in May 2019 — along with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — that would cap both rates at 15%. Payday loans are small-dollar advances designed to provide emergency funds. They are typically...

WASHINGTON – Rep. Patrick McHenry has been representing western North Carolina in the U.S. House since he was 29 years old. The 10th District Republican, now 43, has long been considered a rising star among House GOP lawmakers. He’s worked in leadership as Republicans’ chief deputy whip, and he’s often labeled as an aspiring Speaker of the House. He’s got...

Lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it easier for student loan borrowers to cancel their debt in bankruptcy. The measure, which is supported by 14 Democrats, one Republican and one independent, is dubbed the Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019. “Americans struggling financially should have the option to discharge their student loans during bankruptcy as a last...

People at their most desperate are at their most vulnerable. In an economy that’s booming, the wealth gap should be shrinking, not widening. Climbing the economic ladder for the working poor, especially for blacks and Latinos, is being threatened by payday loan lenders eager to exploit the situation with the help of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Earlier this...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Katko has joined with some ideological foes – Elizabeth Warren and Jerrold Nadler – to help some of the 44 million Americans trying to repay $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. The Democrats and Katko, R-Camillus, introduced a bill Thursday that would give borrowers who declare bankruptcy the option of having their student loan debt...

Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will reportedly introduce new legislation today capping credit card and consumer loan interest rates at 15 percent and also set penalties for companies that violate the law “including a forfeiture of all interest on the illegal loans,” according to the Intercept. The proposed cap would be six percent lower than the current median interest rate...

On Thursday, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced her first official bill in the United State Congress: the Loan Shark Prevention Act, which would limit the interest rate on all consumer loans to 15 percent. (Over in the Senate, Vermont senator and Democratic 2020 hopeful Bernie Sanders unveiled an identical proposal.) Enacting the measure into law would have two primary...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making plans to enter the technology age with its proposal to change the rules for debt collectors. While it’s great that they’re getting more specific about what is and isn’t allowed, you’re almost certainly not going to love all the changes.