Durbin, Reed Welcome Additional Tools To Crack Down On Predatory Lending Practices

Statement

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI), applauded a new rule announced today by the Department of Defense that will close loopholes in the Military Lending Act (MLA) and better protect servicemembers from predatory lending practices. Last year, Durbin and Reed led a letter to then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel expressing strong support for the proposed rule to help prevent lenders from charging excessive fees and taking advantage of military families.

"Predatory lenders are undermining the strength of our military by threatening the economic future of our servicemembers," Senator Durbin said. "I am glad to see the Department of Defense take action today to better protect military families from exploitation and unfair lending practices--it's the right thing to do."

"This is a significant win for our troops and their families. Predatory lending is a threat to military readiness and therefore our national security, and frankly these commonsense protections are long overdue. The MLA was designed to enhance financial protections for military families and updating the rules and closing these loopholes will help make it more effective and ensure lenders don't put an unfair financial strain on our troops and their loved ones. Predatory lending, unfortunately, continues to evolve, and we need to strengthen our consumer protections to keep up. Plugging these MLA loopholes is an important step toward protecting our service members and their families," said Senator Reed, the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a senior member of the Banking Committee.

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