Protecting Consumers

Keeping Families in Their Homes

As Director of Portland Habitat for Humanity, Senator Merkley saw firsthand how home ownership transforms families.  A home provides the foundation for families to thrive and for children to reach their full potential. 

Sadly, today, Americans are at a greater risk of losing their homes than at any other point in recent history. More Americans lost their homes to foreclosure in 2008 than in any year since the Great Depression, and Americans are currently losing their homes at a rate of almost 50,000 per week.  The epidemic of foreclosures is at the root of our recession.  As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Merkley is working to pass legislation that protects borrowers, reduces foreclosures and helps to keep people in their homes. 

Senator Merkley strongly supports President Obama’s Homeowner Assistance and Stability Plan, which is helping struggling families obtain affordable mortgages, but believes that more needs to be done. He supports legislation that would provide federal bankruptcy judges with greater power to modify existing mortgages, giving many families a chance to avoid foreclosure and keep their home under new terms.  Current law allows federal bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of debt repayment for luxury items like sports cars, yachts, and vacation homes, but it doesn’t allow families to restructure their mortgages.  Families should have the same lifeline option as yacht-owners.

Senator Merkley is also working to increase transparency and accountability in mortgage lending. A significant contributor to the foreclosure crisis was that a huge number of families who qualified for affordable prime loans – more than half at the peak of the subprime boom – were instead advised by mortgage brokers to take out high-cost, high-risk loans. To prevent predatory lenders from directing families into bad loans in the future, Senator Merkley introduced legislation that would end deceptive lending practices. Senator Merkley’s Transparency for Homeowners Act would end secret steering payments or kickbacks to lenders who lead homeowners into deceptive mortgages that they cannot afford over the long term. His Promoting Mortgage Responsibility Act would prohibit lenders from issuing costly financial penalties that prevent homeowners from refinancing into a more affordable loan.

Protecting Credit Card Holders

Too many Americans have been placed into financial hardship by unfair policies buried in the fine print of their credit card statements.

In order to give consumers the tools they need to keep out of credit card debt, Senator Merkley has co-sponsored the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, authored by Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd.  The CARD Act will strengthen regulation and oversight of the credit card industry and tighten the rules, including prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices such as imposing punitive interest rates on cardholders in good standing when they are late on other bills, finance charges on balances that are paid on time, and sudden spikes in interest rates on cardholders in good standing.

Senator Merkley also understands the importance of financial literacy and supports programs that help teach our young people the responsibility that comes with earning a paycheck, including paying bills, developing credit, and making investments.

Cracking Down on Predatory Payday Lenders

As economic hardship hits families across the country, many Americans are being forced to turn to short term payday loans with massive interest rates just to deal with day-to-day expenses.  If not paid off right away, the costs of loans can balloon to more than 400 percent of the original loan, causing financial burdens that are practically impossible for families to escape.

As Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Merkley led an effort to crack down on predatory payday lenders in Oregon.  Merkley was successful in imposing a 36 percent interest rate cap on state-regulated consumer loans and limits on check cashing fees.

Many states don’t have the protections that are now in place in Oregon and Senator Merkley is working to provide these safeguards for all Americans.  Specifically, Senator Merkley supports capping payday loan interest rates, requiring payday lenders to report to credit bureaus, and empowering the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on deceptive practices.

Ensuring Safe Food and Consumer Products

To support American farmers and help families make choices about the foods they eat, Senator Merkley supports Country of Origin Labeling for food products.  We already have nutrition information for food items, but it’s also important to include information about where that food comes from.  This way, Americans can support local agriculture and reduce the global warming pollution that results from transporting food around the world.  From his position on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Merkley will work to strengthen the FDA, ensuring that our foods and medicines are safe.  We must also stop the importation of unsafe products from countries like China that contain harmful substances.