{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-durbin-lead-40-us-senators-in-backing-dod-plan-to-better-protect-military-families-from-abusive-financial-practices", "Reed, Durbin Lead 40 U.S. Senators in Backing DOD Plan to Better Protect Military Families from Abusive Financial Practices", "2014-11-25", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11/25/2014\u00a0\u2014\u00a0WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a group of 40 Senate colleagues in supporting the Department of Defense\u2019s (DOD) plan to update the Military Lending Act (MLA) and close existing loopholes in order to better protect soldiers and their families from abusive financial practices.\u00a0 The letter, sent to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, expresses strong support for the proposed new rule to help prevent lenders from charging excessive fees and taking advantage of military families.\r\nFollowing a 2006 Pentagon report that found that \u201cpredatory lending undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their families, and adds to the cost of fielding an all-volunteer fighting force,\u201d Congress passed the MLA.\u00a0 This law capped the annual interest rates for consumer credit to service members and their dependents at 36% while giving DOD the authority to define what loans should be covered.\u00a0 The DOD\u2019s 2007 implementing regulations narrowly included only three types of loans: (1) payday loans: closed-end loans with terms of 91 days or fewer, for $2,000 or less; (2) auto title loans: closed-end loans with terms of 181 days or fewer; and (3) refund anticipation loans: closed-end credit.\r\nIn the proposed changes to the MLA, first announced in September, DOD seeks to close existing loopholes in the current MLA rule.\u00a0 Today\u2019s letter voices strong support for the proposed rule, arguing that the changes strike a better balance between protecting service members and their families while maintaining access to good credit.\u00a0\r\nReed and Durbin were joined by Senators Mark Udall (D-CO), Levin (D-MI), Brown (D-OH), Hirono (D-HI), Manchin (D-WV), Warner (D-VA), Franken (D-MN), Baldwin (D-WI), Nelson (D-FL), Murphy (D-CT), Blumenthal (D-CT), Merkley (D-OR), Heinrich (D-NM), Warren (D-MA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Murray (D-WA), Whitehouse (D-RI), King (I-ME), Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Kaine (D-VA), McCaskill (D-MO), Shaheen (D-NH), Schatz (D-HI), Markey (D-MA), Bennet (D-CO), Coons (D-DE), Donnelly (D-IN), Feinstein (D-CA), Cardin (D-MD), Carper (D-DE), Wyden (D-OR), Heitkamp (D-ND), Tester (D-MT), Boxer (D-CA), Hagan (D-NC), Harkin (D-IA), and Schumer (D-NY) in signing onto the letter.\u00a0 The signatories include every Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.\r\n\u201cAs our service members are asked to take on even more tasks in defense of our nation, we should take every opportunity to protect them and their families here at home, especially from unscrupulous lenders,\u201d the Senators wrote.\u00a0 \u201cWe strongly support the proposed MLA rule and urge that the final MLA rule be similarly robust in enhancing protections for service members and their families, producing significant cost savings for DOD, and improving military readiness.\u201d\r\nIn addition to supporting the original MLA in 2006, Senator Reed has led efforts to strengthen it and protect military families.\r\nHe wrote the law creating the Office of Servicemember Affairs within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to serve as a watchdog for military personnel.\u00a0 This office educates and empowers service members and their families to make better-informed decisions regarding consumer financial products and services.\r\nReed also included language in the FY2013 Defense Authorization Act requiring the Pentagon to study the effectiveness of the MLA, which contributed to the current proposed rule-making process, and authorizing all federal agencies responsible for federal credit laws to use their civil enforcement capabilities to enforce the 36% interest rate cap required by the MLA.\r\n\u201cPredatory lending, unfortunately, continues to evolve, and we need to strengthen our consumer protections to keep up.\u00a0 Plugging these MLA loopholes is an important step toward protecting our service members and their families.\u00a0 It sends unscrupulous lenders a clear message: we will not allow our troops to be exploited, especially while they are fighting to protect us, and we are cracking down on abusive practices in order to preserve our military readiness,\u201d said Reed.\r\nThe comment period, which was recently extended, for the proposed rule ends on December 26, 2014.\r\nThe full text of the letter follows:\r\nThe Honorable Chuck Hagel\r\nSecretary\r\nU.S. Department of Defense\r\n1000 Defense Pentagon\r\nWashington, D.C. 20301-1000\r\n\u00a0\r\nRe: Limitations on Terms of Consumer Credit Extended to Service members and Dependents\r\nDocket ID: DoD-2013-OS-0133\r\n\u00a0\r\nDear Mr. Secretary:\r\nWe are writing in response to the Department of Defense (DOD) proposal to update the implementing rules for the Military Lending Act (MLA).\r\nBy enacting the MLA as part of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Congress sent a clear bipartisan message that protecting service members and their families from predatory and high cost lending was of paramount importance to their financial security and military readiness.\r\nThis concern was reiterated in the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which stated that \u201cthe conferees are concerned that the Department must remain vigilant to eliminate continuing, evolving predatory lending practices targeting service members and their families, and believe the Department should review its regulations implementing section 987, to address changes in the industry and the evolution of lending products offered since 2007, continuing use of predatory marketing practices, and other abuses identified by consumer protection advocates, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u2019s Office of Servicemember Affairs.\u201d\r\nAs a result of this required review of the current MLA rule, DOD in its proposal now recommends closing existing MLA loopholes.\u00a0 We believe this strikes a significantly better balance than the current MLA rule between protecting service members and their families on the one hand and maintaining access to non-predatory credit on the other.\u00a0 As such, this proposal also does a much better job of reflecting Congressional intent.\u00a0\r\nSpecifically, we support the proposal to expand the MLA\u2019s \u201cdefinition of \u2018consumer credit\u2019 to cover a broader range of closed-end and open-end credit products.\u201d\u00a0 In so doing, the rule proposes that these products be treated in a manner generally consistent with the decades-old requirements of the Truth in Lending Act.\u00a0\r\nThis comprehensive approach is essential to preventing future evasions.\u00a0 As DOD notes in its proposed rule, \u201cthe extremely narrow definition of \u2018consumer credit\u2019 permits creditors to structure credit products in order to reduce or avoid altogether the obligations of the MLA.\u201d\u00a0 For example, MLA protections currently can be avoided by simply adding a day to the term of a payday loan or by lending just one additional cent so that the payday loan no longer qualifies as \u201cconsumer credit\u201d subject to the MLA protections. \u00a0\u00a0\r\nContrary to Congressional intent, these evasions threaten military readiness.\u00a0 According to DOD, \u201ceach separation of a service member is estimated to cost the Department $57,333, and the Department estimates that each year approximately 4,703 to 7,957 service members are involuntarily separated due to financial distress.\u201d\u00a0 In addition to the estimated cost savings DOD has identified, we give great weight and deference to DOD\u2019s statement that the proposed MLA rule \u201cwould reduce non-quantifiable costs associated with financial strains on service members. High-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.\u201d\u00a0 As a result, we strongly agree with DOD\u2019s view that the proposed MLA rule not only has the potential to produce substantial cost savings, but also enhance military readiness.\r\nIn August of last year, a number of us wrote, \u201cservice members and their families deserve the strongest possible protections and swift action to ensure that all forms of credit offered to members of our armed forces are safe and sound.\u201d\u00a0 Indeed, as our service members are asked to take on even more tasks in defense of our nation, we should take every opportunity to protect them and their families here at home, especially from unscrupulous lenders.\u00a0\r\nFor all these reasons, we strongly support the proposed MLA rule and urge that the final MLA rule be similarly robust in enhancing protections for service members and their families, producing significant cost savings for DOD, and improving military readiness.\r\nSincerely,\r\nReed\r\nDurbin\r\nMark Udall\r\nLevin\r\nBrown\r\nHirono\r\nManchin\r\nWarner\r\nFranken\r\nBaldwin\r\nNelson\r\nMurphy\r\nBlumenthal\r\nMerkley\r\nHeinrich\r\nWarren\r\nGillibrand\r\nMurray\r\nWhitehouse\r\nKing\r\nKlobuchar\r\nTom Udall\r\nKaine\r\nMcCaskill\r\nShaheen\r\nSchatz\r\nMarkey\r\nBennet\r\nCoons\r\nDonnelly\r\nFeinstein\r\nCardin\r\nCarper\r\nWyden\r\nHeitkamp\r\nTester\r\nBoxer\r\nHagan\r\nHarkin\r\nSchumer\r\n-end-\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 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.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-durbin-lead-40-us-senators-in-backing-dod-plan-to-better-protect-military-families-from-abusive-financial-practices"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.752770971506834, "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"}