CRL Director of Federal Advocacy, Scott Astrada, appeared before the HFSC's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee on January 9th, 2018 to deliver testimony for a hearing tittled "Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime: Part III." He spoke on the following bills:
- H.R. 2683, a bill to prevent veterans' credit scores from unfairly being hurt by inaccurately reported medical debts. CRL supports supports the bill and views it as a positive step forward to protect veterans from credit reporting errors. We further encourage Congress to consider legislation to protect the general population from the harms of inaccurate medical debts on credit reports as well as from debt collectors attempting to collect these inaccurate debts.
- H.R. 1264, which would essentially exempt a large part of the banking industry from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's supervision. CRL opposes this bill, which would be very harmful to consumers and the stability of our financial system.
- H.R. 4648, a bill that would reduce transparency and curtail analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. Because HMDA is crucial to preventing discrimination and thsi bill would undermine ongoing fair lending efforts, CRL opposes the measure.
- H.R. 4725, which would dramatically reduce the amount of data avaiilable to the Bureau of Economic Analysis on depository institutions. In the long run, this bill would put some of our nation’s most vulnerable communities, specifically Americans that live in rural areas, at substantial risk. Without the data from banks that serve these communities, it will become very difficult to implement economic policies that will best serve our rural neighborhoods, and leave millions of rural Americans vulnerable if there is a systemic downturn for community banks. CRL opposes the measure.
- H.R. ___, Seller and Finance and Baloon Loans (Rep. Pearce). This bill, which does not have a number assigned to it yet, would broaden a narrow exception to the Dodd-Frank mortgage loan originator compensation rules and would be particularly problematic for owners of manufactured homes. Anyone with a balloon loan made under the proposed exception would have only two options: accept any onerous terms offered by the park owner, including selling the home well below market, in order to avoid the lump-sum payment coming due, or face foreclosure. Because of the risks created for consumers by these exemptions, CRL opposes this bill.
Download the complete written testimony. (PDF)
1831Watch Scott Astrada's opening statement and the entire hearing: