Durbin And Duckworth Call For Stronger Consumer Protections For Military Families

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke at a press conference today to call for additional tools to better protect members of the military and their families from abusive financial practices. Today, Duckworth introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would empower the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to oversee and enforce compliance with certain existing provisions of the Service Member Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA was designed to ease financial burdens on service members during periods of military service, but despite these protections, enforcement of this critical law has been found to be inconsistent and subject to the discretion of financial regulators. Durbin has co-sponsored similar legislation in the Senate.

"I get exercised over the exploitation of consumers. Period. But I get especially exercised when these consumers are veterans and members of the active military," Durbin said. "Go to a military base and take a look at what's sitting outside: predatory lenders, payday loans, and other people who are trying to take advantage of military families. In many ways, they are not only endangering these families and their economic future, they are threatening the stability of our military. What we're doing here today is adding new enforcement to a law that has been on the books for a long time to protect members of the military from the exploitation that's taking place."

"As someone who was deployed to a combat zone, I know how stressful that experience can be," Duckworth said. "You're trying to do your job and serve your nation under the most difficult of circumstances, and at the same time, you're worried about the family you've left behind. I can only imagine the stress servicemembers are under when they also face financial difficulties during their service. That's why the Military Consumer Protection Act is so important."

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