| Dear Katy, One of the nation's wealthiest payday lenders was recently caught bragging about how his donations to Trump are helping shred the rules on his predatory industry, which makes its money by trapping people into debt with interest rates as high as 400%.1 The dirty secret of the payday lending industry is that they don't make money if people repay their loans on time. Payday lenders trick people into taking out loans with sky-high interest rates, lock them into months or years of debt, charge hidden fees and then can arrest borrowers to force them to pay. Obama-era rules cracked down on the industry, but with a grifter like Trump in the White House, industry is fighting back. And winning.2,3 The Trump administration is too corrupt to regulate predatory payday lenders. It's long past time for Congress to step in and protect Americans with a clear, strict cap on payday loan interest rates. Tell Congress: Stop Trump's corruption. Crack down on payday lenders. Click here to sign the petition. Daniel Hodges of Advance Financial donated more than $1.25 million directly to Trump, hosted a fundraiser for Mike Pence, donated almost $700,000 to Republicans in Congress and hired White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney's former top aide as a lobbyist.3 Hodges openly admitted to the corruption, boasting that after he calls Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, "She's been able to call over to the White House and say, 'Hey, we have one of our large givers. They need an audience.'"3 His investment appears to have paid off. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under Trump appointee Kathy Kraninger, claimed in a court filing earlier this year that it would preserve Obama-era rules that would have kept lenders' from getting unlimited access to people's bank accounts. In 2017, Hodges' lobbyist met with Mulvaney more than anyone not employed by the government, and five Republican representatives all pressured Kraninger to dismantle the payment rules during congressional hearings.4 Now it looks like Kraninger is planning to do just that, despite her earlier promise. Tell Congress: Stop Trump's corruption. Crack down on payday lenders. Click here to sign the petition. Democrats have better plans. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a bill that would cap all payday loans at 15%. Rep. Chuy Garcia is pushing legislation that would extend the 36% cap that currently protects all members of the military to every single American and close loopholes in the process. The best way to highlight Trump's corruption – and save people from legally sanctioned loan sharks – is for the House of Representatives to pass tough legislation cracking down on payday lenders. Can you help build momentum for these bills today? Tell Congress: Stop Trump's corruption. Crack down on payday lenders. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump-payday-lending-corruption?t=10&akid=35367%2E12967895%2EsNUZQf Thank you for speaking out, Heidi Hess, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - David Dayen, "How to Buy a Regulation in Six Short Months," The American Prospect, Dec. 9, 2019.
- Ibid.
- Anjali Tsui, "They Loan You Money. Then They Get a Warrant for Your Arrest." ProPublica, Dec. 3, 2019.
- Dayen, "How to Buy a Regulation in Six Short Months."
- Ibid.
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