[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STOP PREDATORY LENDING TO MILITARY

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to warn of the danger to our Armed 
Forces and their families not on the battlefield, but here on American 
soil.
  The Military Spending Act, passed in 2006, stopped much of the 
predatory lending that once sunk its claws into our military families, 
but loopholes remain.
  The rent-to-own industry constructs stores outside our military 
bases, while car title lenders and Internet payday lenders find ways 
around the law by creating open-end loans with interest topping 500 
percent.
  A counselor at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, reports that most 
servicemembers seeking financial counseling are burdened with expensive 
rent-to-own contracts. One soldier earning less than $1,000 a month 
paid nearly $500 a month in furniture rent.
  The Senate recently held hearings on this, and the Senate version of 
the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 would mandate 
regulating open-end credit loans and close the loopholes.
  This must change. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the 
House and the Senate to address this problem. We must add rent-to-own 
and open-ended loans to ``covered'' credit and stop the use of 
allotments for military pay for credit.

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