Letters to Congress

This letter strongly urges the opposition of H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015 (SBRFIA). SBRFIA expands the reach and scope of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and would increase unnecessary and lengthy regulatory delays, increase undue influence by regulated industries and encourage convoluted court challenges.

This letter urges the FHA to reduce the cost of its single-family mortgage insurance premiums to expand access to safer and more affordable mortgages to more creditworthy households. The FHA has twin missions to provide access to mortgage credit and to protect the integrity of the Fund - these missions are best accomplished using a dynamic evaluation of the FHA book of business, performance over time, and market fundamentals.

This sign-on letter urges the rejection of any effort to include the "Jumpstart GSE Reform Act" in the omnibus FY 2016 appropriations agreement. While the name and the stated purpose of this bill may sound innocuous, it would effectively hinder rather than advance reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, increasing the risk of future taxpayer bailouts, and potentially jeopardizing the ability of the GSEs to expand affordable housing in the communities we represent.

H.R. 1737 hides its intent behind a smokescreen of claims about process and regulatory jurisdiction. However, the bill is really about the unfair and discriminatory impact of car dealer interest rate markups. The bill seemingly targets guidance the CFPB released in March 2013 putting lenders on notice that it had evidence of discrimination in car loans held in lenders’ portfolios and gave assistance to lenders on how to avoid fair lending risk going forward. The bill is a misguided attack on the CFPB’s enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

The undersigned organizations write to urge you to oppose H.R. 1210 (the “Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act”). This bill makes two harmful changes to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) and its implementing regulations: It takes a special exemption designed for more trustworthy small and rural banks and extends it to all banks, regardless of size or trustworthiness. It substantially weakens the Act’s ban on loan steering—a practice that supports predatory lending and racial discrimination.

CRL joined a sign on letter with over 100 consumer, student, education, civil rights, labor, and veterans groups detailing their concerns about the lack of oversight of student loan servicing.

American consumers need strong protections from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices in the payday and small-dollar lending markets. CRL joined Americans for Financial Reform and more than 100 other organizations to urge Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to pass a broad rule, warning that an overly narrow rule could result in an even deeper debt trap.

Consumer groups fear OCC proposed guidance may legitimize and facilitate the spread of payday lending by national banks, and banks would continue abusive overdraft practices—harming bank customers, undermining state payday loan laws, and weakening the long-term safety and soundness of financial institutions.