Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act

Mr. President, I rise today to tell you about Brian Neuman, an Iraq combat veteran who was wounded while serving our Nation overseas in 2004.

Brian has spent years working with the Wounded Warrior Project to help other veterans get the benefits that they need.

Years after returning home, Brian applied for an annual clothing allowance of $841. This allowance should be available to veterans like Brian when a medication or a medical device causes irregular wear or damage to their clothing.

As many vets with service injuries will tell you, their clothes wear down much faster than other people's, and the prosthetics can rip or tear clothes as well. Some veterans need tailoring to make clothing fit more comfortably around their injuries. Others have to treat skin conditions with creams that damage their clothes.

These veterans get compensation for the expenses associated with their injuries--and rightly so. Our veterans have given this country so much, and Congress has a responsibility to hold up its end of the bargain, to care for them when they are injured during their service to our Nation.

But right now, this benefit isn't accessible for many veterans, and that is wrong, and we need to change it.

In the case of the clothing allowance benefits, as Brian discovered, the VA currently requires veterans to be evaluated for this benefit in person, every year. One year, Brian physically went to a VA clinic to submit the clothing allowance application, and his request was denied because the VA had no record that he received a prosthetic at that specific clinic. At that point, like many vets, Brian gave up on the process in frustration.

That is just unacceptable. These are brave men and women who are living with severe burns or who wear prosthetic devices as a result of their service. In many cases, the VA already knows these veterans have a medical condition that isn't going to change year from year.

And that didn't make any sense to Brian, so he did something about it. He reached out to see if Congress could solve the problem. He did. He did it, he says, less for himself, but more for the many veterans in rural States, like mine in Nevada, who live hours away from the nearest VA Brian knows that many of them are so worn out by the process of applying for what is owed them that they just give up.

These men and women are tired of jumping through hoops to access their earned benefits. So why are we forcing them to navigate this complicated bureaucracy? There are certainly places to cut costs, but this isn't one of them.

The Senate can fix this problem easily, and I have introduced a bipartisan bill to do just that. I am glad to be working across the aisle with my colleague Senator Boozman to support injured and disabled veterans. Our bill makes it easier for them to get clothing that works for their specific needs. My legislation requires the VA to automatically renew this clothing allowance. Veterans can get it until they say they don't need it anymore or until the VA's records indicate that they don't require it. This will make sure they aren't forced to drive long distances to access a VA benefit they are owed.

I am looking forward to moving this legislation through Congress so we can make life a little easier for the 40,000 wounded warriors who currently receive this benefit and for the thousands more who qualify. There shouldn't be any redtape stopping veterans from getting their benefits, so let's pass this bill and fix this problem.

I am going to continue to work in every way I can to make sure that veterans in Nevada and across the country get the Federal resources they need

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act (VCFCA) along with Senator Merkley, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Brown, and many of my colleagues. This important legislation would extend the bipartisan Military Lending Act's (MLA) protections for active-duty servicemembers and their families to all Americans by imposing a nationwide 36 percent cap on the annual percentage rate (APR) for most extensions of consumer credit.

The MLA was enacted on a bipartisan basis in 2006 to rein in payday and other unscrupulous lenders that targeted American troops with abusive and predatory loans. Unfortunately, the MLA does not protect veterans or Gold Star families from these exploitative practices. Our servicemembers and their families should not lose important consumer protections simply because they retire, separate from honorable service, or lose their loved ones. As such, our legislation would extend the MLA' s protections to veterans and Gold Star families as well as ensure that all Americans are shielded from predatory loans.

Hundreds of millions of American consumers could benefit from a 36 percent APR cap. In states that do not have such a cap, predatory lenders are permitted to offer loans with triple-digit APRs that trap individuals in cycles of debt. For instance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that 80 percent of payday loans are rolled over or renewed within two weeks. This practice can cause borrowers to pay more in fees than the amount of money they originally borrowed, which is a sign of predatory lending and poor underwriting.

According to a coalition of community organizations, payday lenders are known to target the most vulnerable, including seniors, veterans, and low-income borrowers. Many in these communities were already struggling to make ends meet before the pandemic, and continuing to pay exorbitant APRs may cause them to fall deeper into economic insecurity. This is why it's important to extend strong protections against unscrupulous lenders to all Americans.

The MLA's successful track record demonstrates that providing for reasonable, responsible limits on interest rates does not cut off consumers' access to credit. According to a May 2021 report from the Department of Defense, ``credit cards, auto loans, and personal loans are widely available at risk-based rates under the 36 percent [military] APR'' and ``[s]ervice members continue to have ample access to necessary credit.''

Moreover, this legislation would follow the trend in many states towards greater protections against predatory loans. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted APR caps of 36% or lower for payday loans or banned them altogether. Lenders in these states have incentives to offer more affordable loans that borrowers have an ability to repay. The same incentives should apply across the nation.

I thank the bill's supporters, including the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), the Center for Responsible Lending, Americans for Financial Reform, Veterans Education Success, the Military Officers Association of America, and the National Military Family Association.

I urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act (VCFCA) along with Senator Merkley, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Brown, and many of my colleagues. This important legislation would extend the bipartisan Military Lending Act's (MLA) protections for active-duty servicemembers and their families to all Americans by imposing a nationwide 36 percent cap on the annual percentage rate (APR) for most extensions of consumer credit.

The MLA was enacted on a bipartisan basis in 2006 to rein in payday and other unscrupulous lenders that targeted American troops with abusive and predatory loans. Unfortunately, the MLA does not protect veterans or Gold Star families from these exploitative practices. Our servicemembers and their families should not lose important consumer protections simply because they retire, separate from honorable service, or lose their loved ones. As such, our legislation would extend the MLA' s protections to veterans and Gold Star families as well as ensure that all Americans are shielded from predatory loans.

Hundreds of millions of American consumers could benefit from a 36 percent APR cap. In states that do not have such a cap, predatory lenders are permitted to offer loans with triple-digit APRs that trap individuals in cycles of debt. For instance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that 80 percent of payday loans are rolled over or renewed within two weeks. This practice can cause borrowers to pay more in fees than the amount of money they originally borrowed, which is a sign of predatory lending and poor underwriting.

According to a coalition of community organizations, payday lenders are known to target the most vulnerable, including seniors, veterans, and low-income borrowers. Many in these communities were already struggling to make ends meet before the pandemic, and continuing to pay exorbitant APRs may cause them to fall deeper into economic insecurity. This is why it's important to extend strong protections against unscrupulous lenders to all Americans.

The MLA's successful track record demonstrates that providing for reasonable, responsible limits on interest rates does not cut off consumers' access to credit. According to a May 2021 report from the Department of Defense, ``credit cards, auto loans, and personal loans are widely available at risk-based rates under the 36 percent [military] APR'' and ``[s]ervice members continue to have ample access to necessary credit.''

Moreover, this legislation would follow the trend in many states towards greater protections against predatory loans. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted APR caps of 36% or lower for payday loans or banned them altogether. Lenders in these states have incentives to offer more affordable loans that borrowers have an ability to repay. The same incentives should apply across the nation.

I thank the bill's supporters, including the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income clients), the Center for Responsible Lending, Americans for Financial Reform, Veterans Education Success, the Military Officers Association of America, and the National Military Family Association.

I urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. President. The United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) was formed to help small and local nonprofit organizations partner with the agency on humanitarian work, and was inspired in part by requests from Congress for USAID to cooperate more closely with these organizations. The program was founded on the principle that greater diversity and competition among the USAID partner base would lead to better and more effective development

work. Since its creation, NPI has helped USAID expand its collaboration with local nonprofits to undertake critical work overseas, but this vital program needs a clearly defined foundation in statute and long- term authorization of funding to sustain its progress well beyond 2021.

Today, I am pleased to introduce the New Partnerships Initiative Authorization Act with Senator Rubio. This legislation would cement USAID's commitment to diversifying its nonprofit partner base by authorizing the program and necessary funding through Fiscal Year 2026. Additionally, the New Partnerships Initiative Authorization Act would improve outcomes at the NPI program by outlining in statute core elements of the program, and requiring the USAID Administrator to adhere to certain criteria regarding program management and nonprofit recruitment.

This bipartisan legislation is an opportunity to ensure that the New Partnerships Initiative continues to be an effective tool for diversifying USAID's partner base through the inclusion of locally based and underutilized partners. I look forward to working with USAID leadership and my colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee to swiftly consider and implement the New Partnerships Initiative Authorization Act.

Thank you, Mr. President.