[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PAYDAY BORROWER PROTECTION ACT OF 1999

  (Mr. RUSH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, today I am here to introduce the Payday 
Borrower Protection Act of 1999.
  Payday loan companies are springing up all over the country. Payday 
loan companies are cannibalistic. They are akin to loansharking. These 
companies provide short-term loans with minimum credit checks to 
consumers who are in desperate need of cash.
  The interest on these loans are unconscionably high, usually running 
from 261 percent to 913 percent annually. It is not uncommon for a 
consumer to have borrowed, say, $100 and within a year to be forced to 
repay $900 to a payday loan company.
  My bill regulates and imposes some rational criteria on these loans. 
My bill caps annual interest fees at 36 percent and prohibits any 
payday lender from refinancing or rolling over any loans. My bill also 
sets a minimum national standard for State payday loan laws.
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the 
Payday Borrower Protection Act of 1999.

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