{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-applauds-cfpb-action-against-predatory-lenders-targeting-military-servicemembers", "Blumenthal Applauds CFPB Action Against Predatory Lenders Targeting Military Servicemembers", "2014-12-18", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Blumenthal Applauds CFPB Action Against Predatory Lenders Targeting Military Servicemembers\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Tweet\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThursday, December 18, 2014\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n(Hartford, CT) \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today released the following statement after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Freedom Stores, Inc., Freedom Acceptance Corporation, and Military Credit Services LLC for illegal debt collection practices against servicemembers. In March and August, Senator Blumenthal led letters calling for CFPB to use its enforcement authority to crack down on companies that abuse judicial and administrative processes to harass service members, exactly the conduct these entities are accused of engaging in. Senator Blumenthal has also repeatedly called on the Department of Defense to reform its allotment system, which the companies appear to have used to collect from servicemembers.\r\n\u201cI applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for responding to my request that they do more to protect our brave men and women in uniform from abusive lending practices.\r\n\u201cThis case points to a broader problem: unscrupulous creditors appear to have used the Defense Department\u2019s own payroll system to prey on servicemembers by garnishing their pay without giving them an adequate opportunity to contest a debt. I call on the Pentagon to immediately reconsider its process for garnishing servicemember pay to ensure that servicemembers\u2019 rights are protected. The Defense Department should stop serving as a collection agency for predatory lenders.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\n\t\t\t\t\tJosh Zembik (DC) - 202-224-6452 Josh_Zembik@blumenthal.senate.gov Elizabeth Benton (CT) - 860-729-3589 Elizabeth_Benton@blumenthal.senate.gov", 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": ["http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-applauds-cfpb-action-against-predatory-lenders-targeting-military-servicemembers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0451329182833433, "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"}