Payday Rule Repeal Introduced in Senate

Senator Lindsey Graham (R- SC) introduced a joint resolution in the Senate to utilize the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule on “Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans” (Payday Rule). Sen. Graham’s resolution joins a House resolution brought back in December by Rep. Dennis Ross (R- FL).

Consumer advocacy groups immediately spoke out against Sen. Graham’s proposal. A spokesperson for the Center for Responsible Lending said, “the consumer bureau’s rule would help free people from this suffocating debt trap, and its efforts are supported [by] people all across this country including veterans’ groups, faith leaders, civil rights organizations, consumer advocates, and many more.”

Congress previously relied upon the CRA, a tool that allows Congress to repeal agency rules, last year to roll back a CFPB rule that would have banned mandatory arbitration in consumer financial products and services. That repeal narrowly passed after Vice-President Mike Pence was needed to break a tie in the Senate.

Now under new leadership, the CFPB recently reopened consideration of the Payday Rule. The shift is part of a larger policy change at the consumer agency, wherein Acting Director Mick Mulvaney wants to transfer much of the Bureau’s responsibilities to state entities.