{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-jones-cotton-merkley-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-stop-predatory-unsolicited-loans", "Senators Jones, Cotton, Merkley Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Stop Predatory Unsolicited Loans", "2019-12-13", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Doug Jones", "J000300", "www.jones.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON U.S. Senators Doug\r\nJones (D-Ala.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have reintroduced\r\nbipartisan legislationthe Unsolicited Loan Act that would halt the\r\npredatory practice of mailing high-interest loans to consumers in the form of\r\nlive checks. Often\r\ntimes, when consumers receive these checks in the mail they believe them to be\r\nfrom their bank or another trusted financial institution and are unaware the\r\ncheck is a high-interest loan. Under the Unsolicited Loan Act, this\r\npractice would be prohibited and would ensure consumers can only access loans\r\nfor which they proactively applied. This legislation echoes Congress' ban on\r\nthe mailing of live credit cards. We\r\nneed to continue to take a stand for hard-working families and make sure we\r\nhave protections in place to prevent these predatory tactics, said Senator\r\nJones, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Many\r\nhonest folks are not aware that by depositing these checks they are actually\r\ntaking on a high-interest loan. Congress must act now and pass this\r\ncommon-sense legislation to protect consumers from this predatory scam. People\r\nshould understand exactly what they're getting into when taking on debt. But\r\nmany individuals don't understand that live' checks mailed directly to\r\nconsumers are just high-interest loans in disguise. Congress put an end to\r\nlive' credit cards decades ago, it's time to do the same with live' checks, said\r\nSenator Cotton. Families\r\nacross the country have fallen victim to scams where they think they're getting\r\na lucky windfall or refund from their bank, and instead are being lured into a\r\nhigh-interest loan theynever asked for,said Senator Merkley.\r\nIt should be illegal to trick unsuspecting customers into loans they don't\r\nwant, and that's why I'm urging my colleagues to take a stand for consumer\r\nfairness and transparency by passing the Unsolicited Loan Act. Background\r\non the Unsolicited Loan Act Congress\r\nhas long recognized consumer loans should require an application by a customer\r\nand nearly 50 years ago the practice of mailing live credit cards was banned.\r\nIn modern lending, formal loan applications are often quick to fill out and\r\nthis legislation would not prohibit the direct mailing or marketing of a loan\r\napplication. This legislation would allow for common-sense consumer protections\r\nto be put in placewithout limiting access to creditfor consumers who\r\nwillingly apply and seek lending products. The\r\nUnsolicited Loan Act would also ensure that companies cannot shift from\r\nthe mailing of live checks to other forms of transfer, such as a gift card or\r\nan e-check. Additionally, customers would not be held liable for debt\r\nincurred from illegal, unsolicited live check loans. This\r\nlegislation has been endorsed by The National Consumer Law Center on behalf of\r\nits low-income clients.  ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.jones.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-jones-cotton-merkley-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-stop-predatory-unsolicited-loans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8364720270037651, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}