House Financial Choice Act Repeals Responsible Lending and Anti-Corruption Measures

The House passed the Financial Choice Act repealing multiple‎ measures enacted by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

“This legislation erodes protections that are meant to prevent future financial crisis. It also encourages high-risk speculative investment, a cause of financial crisis,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA. “This act removes oversight of payday lending and too big to fail banks."

‎The legislation that passed the House weakens the regulatory power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over big banks and payday lending.

Another section of Dodd-Frank repealed by the legislation is Section 1504 or the "Cardin-Lugar" measure. Section 1504 requires reporting by oil, gas and mining companies of payments they make to governments in countries where they operate. Earlier in the year, Congress voted to delay implementation of Section 1504.‎

“I'm deeply concerned by attacks on transparency measures that protect vulnerable populations both at home and abroad,” noted LeCompte who serves on United Nations expert groups that focus on responsible finance. “While it's unlikely this legislation will pass the Senate, the Senate must reject any measure that fuels predatory lending, corruption and speculative risky investment.‎"

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 650 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA wins critical global financial reforms and won more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people.

http://www.jubileeusa.org