Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
BRYAN, OH – In Case You Missed It: A Bryan Times’ article highlighted U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) bipartisan Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act, which would protect people from predatory payday and car title loans.
“These stories are all too common in Ohio, Brown added, as corporations continue to pay workers less than they need to survive and banks won’t issue small loans to help pay for unexpected expenses,” wrote Lucas Bechtol for the Bryan Times.
Payday loans are short-term loans, usually for $500 or less, with interest rates as high as 600 percent. Car-title loans similarly offer short-term, high interest cash loans using a car’s title as collateral. According to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, as many as 12 million Americans use payday loans each year, most borrowing for routine expenses, with borrowers spending as much as $9 billion each year on payday loan fees.
Brown’s bill would build on the 2006 Military Lending Act and extend to veterans and all Americans the protections active duty military, their spouses and dependents currently receive. Among other things, the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act would cap the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on loans at 36 percent, compared to rates that frequently top 600 percent in some states.
Read the Bryan Times’ full article HERE or an excerpt below:
Brown wants people freed from ‘cycle of debt’
By: Lucas Bechtol
July, 28, 2021
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is working to free people from what he called a “cycle of debt” from payday lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates.
To that end, he’s supporting legislation that would cap the interest rates of such loans.
Brown spoke about the issue with Gloria Olivencia of Lorain during a press call with reporters on Wednesday.
“Several years ago, she took out a payday loan to help pay her bills and she ended up in a cycle of debt, paying $1,200 interest on a loan that was originally $500,” he said. “It’s so important that people hear these stories of predatory lenders that we’ve seen far too much.”
…
###