Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Center for Responsible Lending Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey released the following statement today on the passing of U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform: We are saddened by the passing of Chairman Elijah Cummings. He was a steadfast leader who served his community and country with passion and conviction. For consumers, he was the voice who championed reforms to protect families from abusive payday lenders, predatory for-profit colleges, and housing discrimination. His legacy is a shining example of what public

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor introduced the College Affordability Act, a bill to lower the costs of college for students and improve the quality of education. The bill includes important provisions to make quality higher education more accessible and affordable for students and families, including indexing the Pell Grant to inflation, extending federal aid eligibility to DACA recipients and Pell Grants to individuals who are incarcerated, creating a path to debt-free community college through the America’s College Promise federal

2008 Crisis Echoes Through American Politics As Americans Seek More WASHINGTON, DC – As candidates vie to set the agenda for the next presidency, Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina strongly support a tough approach to oversight and reform of Wall Street, according to a new poll conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting. The views of these voters, whose decisions will influence the early trajectory of the race for the Democratic nomination, align with Democrats and independents broadly, and on many

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Strong majorities across political parties show concern about the level of student debt in the United States and oppose the Department of Education’s and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) recent actions to weaken protections for students, according to a new poll released by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The poll was conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting. View the polling memo showing voter opposition to recent Department of Education and CFPB actions to

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Committee, unveiled a package of eight bills to rewrite parts of the Higher Education Act. This action comes after Alexander once again blocked consideration of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, which would have extended a two-year mandatory funding for Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR Act) (H.R. 1423), a bill that would restore the ability of Americans to take their disputes with companies to a real court of law. Specifically, the legislation would prohibit contracts from requiring civil rights, consumer, or employment disputes be settled in arbitration – a process shown to be rigged in favor of powerful companies and against the average American. Center for Responsible Lending Executive Vice President Debbie Goldstein issued the following statement: The

“Without significant changes, we believe the proposed rule will perpetuate abusive practices, harm already economically distressed families, and widen the racial wealth gap.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the time for the public to weigh in on a proposed rule governing debt collection practices comes to a close, a coalition of national consumer advocates and civil rights organizations sent a comment letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger urging her to make substantial changes to the agency’s proposal. The letter was submitted by the Center for Responsible

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Committee, blocked consideration of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), extends important mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) set to expire at the end of

NCUA votes for changes to Payday Alternative Loan program; while addressing some key concerns of community groups, overall the vote is a step in the wrong direction WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) voted to approve a final rule governing Payday Alternative Loans, referred to as PAL II. In response, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) acknowledged improvements over the proposed PAL II rule while critiquing changes that could expose credit union members to more loans with effective annual percentage rates

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Unsealed court documents are shedding new light on student loan servicing company Navient and its practice of steering student loan borrowers into forbearance rather than helping them enroll in affordable income-base repayment plans (IBR). According to the documents, an internal memo outlining Navient’s predecessor’s forbearance strategy was: “forbear them, forbear them, make them relinquish the ball … said another way, we are very liberal with the use of forbearance once it is determined that a borrower cannot pay cash or utilize other entitlement programs.” A federal court