[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 214 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8923-S8924]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
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By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, and
Mrs. Gillibrand):
S. 3561. A bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Consumer
Financial Protection Act of 2010 to apply certain protections and
oversight to buy now, pay later loans, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am joined by Senators Van Hollen,
Blumenthal, and Gillibrand, in introducing the Buy Now, Pay Later
Protection Act. This bill will extend key consumer protections for
traditional credit cards to ``buy now, pay later,'' BNPL, loans. These
include standardized disclosures, periodic account statements,
chargeback rights, billing error rights, and a prohibition on surprise
fees.
The typical ``pay-in-four'' BNPL loan allows consumers to purchase a
product and then pay back the loan over four equal installments, with
the first installment akin to a downpayment. BNPL typically does not
charge interest, but it does charge late fees. The lenders make their
money primarily by charging merchants. When BNPL is offered as an
option at check-out, consumers are more likely to complete a purchase
and tend to spend more money.
In the mid-2010s, BNPL became a popular alternative to credit cards
for online retail purchases, particularly among younger consumers. Its
popularity soared during the pandemic, as more consumers turned to
online shopping. Growth since then has been explosive. According to
data from the CFPB and Adobe Analytics, BNPL credit totaled an
estimated $2 billion in 2019 and is expected to be around $120 billion
this year. Around 15 percent of Americans have used BNPL in the past
year--that's is around 90 million people.
When used responsibly, BNPL can be an important source of credit for
those who are weary of credit cards. If they are well-designed,
transparent, accountable, and supervised, BNPL products can
legitimately help these Americans meet their need for credit. In fact,
the typical BNPL user is a lower income borrower who wants to spread
out payments over time without incurring interest.
Given the huge growth in this market in only a few short years, it is
critical to review when the laws governing these products must be
updated. It should be uncontroversial for BNPL borrowers to receive
many of the basic protections that credit card holders currently have,
but they currently lack any of these protections because existing laws
were not drafted with BNPL products in mind. This has resulted in gaps
and uncertainty for BNPL users.
The commonsense protections in the BNPL Protection Act include clear
information on due dates, fees, and how to dispute charges. The bill
requires BNPL lenders to issue periodic account statements. It provides
consumers with a right to seek a chargeback when they are victims of
fraud or deception, so that they don't keep getting charged if they
don't get what they paid for. They also prohibit the credit reporting
bureaus and debt collectors from going after a consumer when they
dispute a transaction, so that borrowers are not penalized or harassed
into repaying debt they may not owe. The CFPB had these protections in
place until the current Acting Director rescinded them earlier this
year.
These protections are crucial now because BNPL delinquencies and
defaults have been on the rise. Nearly 25 percent of BNPL users made
late payments, which is a sharp increase over prior years, in many
cases resulting in significant late fees even on relatively small-
dollar loans. BNPL users do seem to be struggling to an even greater
degree than credit card holders. According to Bloomberg, 43 percent of
those who owe money to BNPL services said they were behind on payments,
and 28 percent said they were delinquent on other debt because of BNPL
spending. Indeed, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that ``a
disproportionate share of BNPL users are already financially fragile''
and that while BNPL may deliver benefits to lower income consumers,
``BNPL may attract consumers who already have financial difficulties
and are struggling to pay their existing bills and debt payments.''
In short, this bill will preserve the availability of BNPL credit
while helping consumers avoid hidden fees, better manage their
finances, and have more transparency into the terms and conditions of
their loans. It will clarify the regulatory status of BNPL loans to
match how consumers are using this new product.
Finally, this bill will require the CFPB to begin supervising BNPL
providers in order to spot violations before they snowball. BNPL
providers are not currently subject to compulsory Federal supervision
by the CFPB. Rather, they may be subject to supervision only by the
States in which they do business. Some States require registration and
conduct examinations, while others do not. This system may allow
potential violations of consumer protection laws to fall through the
cracks, leaving consumers exposed to harm and limiting accountability
for BNPL providers who don't play by the rules.
I thank the supporters of this legislation, including the National
Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients, Americans for
Financial Reform, and the Consumer Federation of America.
I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this important
legislation.
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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Tillis):
[[Page S8924]]
S. 3569. A bill to establish a Federal multi-agency task force to
combat illegal importation, distribution, and sale of e-cigarettes; to
the Committee on the Judiciary.
S. 3569
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Task Force
Operations to Prevent Illicit Vapes Act'' or the ``S.T.O.P.
Illicit Vapes Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE TO COMBAT ILLEGAL
IMPORTATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND SALE OF E-
CIGARETTES.
(a) Establishment.--On the date that is 30 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, there shall be established (or
reestablished) a multi-agency task force to combat the
illegal importation, distribution, and sale of e-cigarettes
(in this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Purpose.--The Task Force shall develop and implement a
comprehensive strategy for reducing the number of
unauthorized e-cigarettes in the market, including setting
goals, sharing information, and coordinating efforts where
appropriate.
(c) Membership.--The Task Force shall be composed of each
of the following members:
(1) The Attorney General, who shall serve as co-chair.
(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, who shall
serve as co-chair.
(3) At least one representative of the Food and Drug
Administration, appointed by the Commissioner of Food and
Drugs.
(4) At least one representative of the Department of
Justice, appointed by the Attorney General.
(5) A representative of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
appointed by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
(6) A representative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives, appointed by the Director of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
(7) A representative of the United States Marshals Service,
appointed by the Director of the United States Marshals
Service.
(8) A representative of the United States Postal Inspection
Service, appointed by the Chief Postal Inspector.
(9) A representative of the Federal Trade Commission,
appointed by the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission.
(10) A representative of Homeland Security Investigations,
appointed by the Executive Associate Director of Homeland
Security Investigations.
(11) A representative of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, appointed by the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
(12) Representatives of such other Federal agencies that
have roles or responsibilities related to e-cigarette
enforcement, as appointed by the co-chairs of the Task Force,
acting jointly.
(d) Meetings.--The Task Force shall meet not less
frequently than once every 30 days.
(e) Semiannual Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than April 30 and October 31 of
each year, the Task Force shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report detailing--
(A) the authorities of each agency represented on the Task
Force to combat the illegal importation, distribution, and
sale of e-cigarettes;
(B) all actions taken by each agency represented on the
Task Force to combat the illegal importation, distribution,
and sale of e-cigarettes, including the investigation and
prosecution of criminal, civil, seizure, and forfeiture
actions, including enforcement actions against unauthorized
e-cigarette manufacturers, importers, and distributors,
during the 6-month period--
(i) with respect to a report due on April 30, ending on the
immediately preceding March 31; or
(ii) with respect to a report due on October 31, ending on
the immediately preceding September 30;
(C) recommendations for additional criminal or civil
authorities that may be necessary to address the public
health threat of the illegal importation, distribution, and
sale of e-cigarettes; and
(D) areas for improvement with respect to collaboration
among the agencies represented on the Task Force.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Energy
and Commerce, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives.
(f) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate on the date
that is 10 years after the date on which the Task Force is
established under subsection (a).
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