Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Janet Yellen was sworn in as the Secretary of the Treasury after her confirmation yesterday by an 84 to 15 vote of the U.S. Senate. President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Mike Calhoun made the following statement: Treasury Secretary Yellen’s swift, bipartisan confirmation as the first woman to hold this role is a historic occasion. Her vision and experience are sorely needed in steering us toward a more equitable recovery. Her decades of leadership make her the right person to lead at this moment. Secretary Yellen’s stewardship of the economy will help

WASHINGTON DC - This afternoon, President Joe Biden outlined an agenda and signed executive actions to move forward on several important fronts toward racial equity, including a measure directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reassess a Trump Administration rule that hindered a plaintiff’s ability to prove housing discrimination. This Presidential Memorandum acknowledges the role the federal government has played in creating and perpetuating discriminatory housing policy. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey said, “President Biden

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Vice-President Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman and the first Black and first South Asian American to ever hold the office. President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Mike Calhoun made the following statement: Congratulations to President Biden and Vice President Harris who took the sacred oath to lead our nation. Today, our leaders promised the American people a message of hope and unity, offering the opportunity to move closer toward the promises of America for all. Today, the

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, numerous media outlets have reported that President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In response to this development, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington issued the following statement: Commissioner Chopra has long fought for financial markets that are fair for consumers, including student loan borrowers. We are encouraged that the CFPB will now return to its mission of protecting

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Joe Biden last night unveiled an outline of his proposed legislative package for relief from the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. In response, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Federal Advocacy Director and Senior Counsel Ashley Harrington made the following statement: President-elect Biden’s plan offers badly needed hope for a country in crisis. The policy proposals would help rescue the finances of many small businesses, renters, and homeowners – disproportionately in Black and brown communities – who are in dire straits. While this plan is

Washington, D.C. — Today, more than 325 organizations sent an updated letter to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, calling on them to use executive authority to cancel federal student debt on day one of their administration. In the letter, more than 325 nonprofit and community organizations highlight that cancelling student debt would stimulate the economy, help reduce racial wealth gaps, and could have a positive impact on health outcomes. The groups write that “executive action is one of the few available tools that could immediately provide a boost to upwards of 44

WASHINGTON D.C. - Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Student Debt Crisis, and Young Invincibles made the following statement on President-Elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan: The absence of a legislative request to cancel student debt heightens the urgent need for President-Elect Biden to cancel student debt administratively. Overwhelming research shows that student debt cancellation would provide dramatic relief particularly in low

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is calling for the immediate removal of Donald J. Trump from the office of the Presidency. Michael D. Calhoun, President of CRL, issued the following statement: In the days since a riotous mob of Trump supporters violently overran police and desecrated the U.S. Capitol, America’s symbol of democracy, the facts undoubtedly leave the president complicit in inciting the mob to stop the constitutionally mandated certification of the Electoral College vote count — inflamed by weeks of repeated

Action Center on Race and the Economy, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), NAACP, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Student Debt Crisis, and Young Invincibles made the following statement: We welcome the announcement that President-Elect Biden plans to extend the student loan payment pause. However, we encourage him to take immediate executive action on student debt cancellation. We know President-Elect Biden realizes how important student debt relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris’ win early Thursday morning in a joint session of Congress, hours after a historic insurrection by extremists who violently breached the Capitol and disrupted lawmakers’ certification of the Electoral College votes. Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey released the following statement: We look forward to working with the new Administration and Congress on a wide range of issues. The historic nature of this moment is not lost on us as the nation will