***ADVISORY FOR TOMORROW, THURSDAY, MARCH 29***
Contact: Anjali Cadambi Anjali.Cadambi@berlinrosen.com 503-984-4020
For Immediate Release
March 28, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tomorrow at 9:30 AM ET, outside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) headquarters, Congressman Don Beyer (D-Alexandria, Va.) and consumer advocates will hold a press conference calling for CFPB’s acting “head” Mick Mulvaney to end practices that benefit predatory payday lenders.
This event comes on the heels of Mulvaney dropping a CFPB lawsuit against a payday lending company and the introduction of a measure, which Mulvaney supports, that would repeal the CFPB’s rule on payday and car-title debt trap loans.
The “Stop The Debt Trap” campaign will be hosting this event, which will consist of simultaneous press conferences at the same location. It will start with a parody press conference of “payday lenders,” in costume and in character, celebrating Mulvaney. Then, Congressman Beyer will join consumer advocates to denounce Mulvaney’s anti-consumer actions.
| Who: | Congressman Don Beyer (D-Alexandria, Va.) Joe Valenti, Director of Consumer Finance at Center for American Progress Amanda Werner, Public Justice – in character as the Monopoly Man José A., Americans for Financial Reform – in character as “Lenny the Loan Shark” |
| What: | Press Conference on Predatory Payday Lenders Celebrating Mick Mulvaney Watch a livestream at 9:30 AM ET on Facebook: Center for Responsible Lending or Americans for Financial Reform |
| When: | Tomorrow, Thursday, March 29th from 9:30 AM ET until 10 AM ET |
| Where: | Outside CFPB, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 |
| Visuals: | The Monopoly Man, whose advocacy went viral from photobombing the Equifax hearing; people in shark costumes; and, rival mock pro-payday and sincere anti-payday signs. |
| RSVP: | Media covering this event are asked to please email Anjali.Cadambi@berlinrosen.com |
Additional Background
This “Stop the Debt Trap” campaign event is part of the nationwide Days of Action against predatory payday lending. Other events will be held in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
As the unlawfully appointed Acting Director of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney has taken several actions that harm consumers and help financial predators, especially payday lenders. For example, he ordered career attorneys at the CFPB to drop a case against Golden Valley Lending and three other payday lending companies that charged interest rates up to 950 percent. Just last week, a lawyer for National Credit Adjusters, a debt collector for payday lenders, confirmed to Reuters that a pending case against the company had been dropped. Reuters also reported that Mulvaney might soon kill three other cases against payday lenders that former agency head Richard Cordray, before his departure, had approved for litigation.
Mulvaney also reopened the CFPB’s finalized rule on payday and car-title loans. This action began the process for administratively unwinding and possibly killing this critical consumer protection rule. Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a payday rule Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, a fast-track vehicle to eliminate the rule and prevent future agencies from issuing a similar rule. Mulvaney has voiced support for this CRA.
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