Floor Statements

Madam President, today, I am introducing the Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act with Senators Smith, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Klobuchar, Fetterman, and Baldwin. Our bill would provide up to $50 billion to help build and preserve approximately 3 million units of affordable housing and would be fully paid for through a transfer tax on investors who acquire and hold more than 15 single-family homes.

Driven by a shortage of as many as 6.8 million homes nationwide, home prices have surged 39 percent and rents 31 percent over the last 4 years, according the National Association of Realtors and Zillow. Higher rents and fewer opportunities for home ownership are devastating for millions of families. As housing costs skyrocket, more households are priced out of home ownership, while renters have less to spend on food, clothing, and other everyday necessities.

Low-income Americans are particularly strained. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 73 percent of extremely low- income households spend more than half their income on housing. Unsurprisingly, homelessness has risen in line with housing prices and is up 15 percent since 2019.

Unfortunately, Federal investments in low-income housing are insufficient to solve this affordability crisis. Indeed, researchers at Harvard University found that the three largest Federal housing programs serve nearly 300,000 fewer households today than they did 20 years ago, while approximately 25 percent more households are eligible but can't get aid.

At the same time, investors are buying a greater share of single- family homes sold each year--many of which they hold as rentals-- preventing more families from reaching home ownership and often driving up rents. Most households cannot compete with the largest investors, who are typically private equity and other institutional investors. That is because large investors can use their financial might to make all-cash offers, waive, contingencies, and provide other concessions that individual buyers simply cannot match. Through last October, more than one out of every four single-family homes sold in 2023 were bought by investors, not hard-working households--a 69-percent increase from investors' prepandemic share of home purchases.

Our Affordable Housing and Homeownership Protection Act would tackle both our affordable housing crisis and institutional investors who crowd out families in the housing market. It would raise $50 billion by taxing investors who purchase large numbers of single-family homes, with higher tax rates for the largest investors. Revenue would be split between the Housing Trust Fund, HTF, and Capital Magnet Fund, CMF, to help build and rehab over 300,000 rental units for extremely low-income Americans through HTF grants and help finance 2.7 million homes for low-income families via CMF, which leverages private investments.

In other words, our bill would help build and rehabilitate millions of homes for American families and boost households competing to buy homes with deep-pocketed investors, all without raising the deficit. This is a commonsense, fair proposal that tackles perhaps our Nation's biggest challenge.

I thank the bill's endorsers--the National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Housing Law Project, National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low-income clients, National Housing Resource Center, Americans for Financial Reform, and Consumer Action--and urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Crews nomination be considered expired at 2:30 p.m. today and that, following disposition of the Crews nomination, the Senate proceed to legislative session to execute the order from December 19, 2023, with respect to the veto message on S.J. Res. 32; further, that all time on the veto message be considered expired and the Senate vote on passage of the joint resolution, the objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding; and finally, that upon disposition of the veto message, the Senate resume executive session to resume consideration of the McEntarfer nomination.

For the information of the Senate, there will be two rollcall votes at 2:30 p.m. today.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding public servant, my former colleague and friend Senator Herb Kohl who passed away on December 27, 2023. Over his 88 years, Herb rightfully earned a reputation as a civic-minded champion, whether it was in his many business ventures, his ownership of the Milwaukee Bucks, or his four terms representing his home State of Wisconsin.

Herb was the son of immigrants who came to America from Poland and Russia and joined in our Nation's entrepreneurial tradition by opening their own business: a small grocery store. Along with his parents and siblings, he helped grow this one store into a successful regional chain. Even with the enormous success of the business, Herb never forgot where he came from. Reflecting on his parents later in his life, he said that ``[t]hey came with zero . . . None of us [children] ever thought we could get by on anything less than a full effort in life.''

Herb remained deeply and personally involved in the business. He would visit dozens of Kohl's stores each week and would personally interview every full-time employee from the top on down. Herb knew that by focusing on his workers, by making sure they were secure in their jobs and able to thrive, that his business would flourish. One of Herb's closest friends once said of him, as noted by the University of Wisconsin's alumni magazine, ``With any store we walked into, he knew every employee by their first name, and he knew all their families . . . You could tell his whole heart and soul was into it.''

In 1985, when the Milwaukee Bucks were on the verge of being sold off and moved to another city, Herb stepped forward and bought the team with the promise to Bucks fans that the team would never leave. He stayed true to his word, even when it came time to sell the franchise three decades later, putting up $100 million of his own money to help build a new arena to serve as the team's home.

That kind of generosity and commitment to the community made Herb a truly beloved figure in Wisconsin. Four times, voters there turned out to send him to the U.S. Senate, each time by wider margins. Just as with his business, Herb put his whole heart and soul into serving the people of the State. He championed gun safety legislation and nutrition programs for children. He worked to support the State's agriculture industry, and his office became known as the gold standard for constituent service which, given his history, was no surprise. He was the embodiment of his campaign slogan, ``Nobody's Senator but Yours.''

I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to Herb's family and to all those who loved him in Wisconsin. Through his work, we know that his impact will continue to be felt, and his humility and dedication will serve as an inspiration to public servants for years to come.

Madam President, today I am reintroducing the Predatory Lending Elimination Act along with 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, projections 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.

To 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 2 weeks. This practice can subject borrowers not just to high nominal interest rates but also to high fees that can quickly surpass the amount of money originally borrowed. These are hallmarks 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 COVID-19 pandemic, and continuing to pay exorbitant APRs may cause them to fall deeper into economic insecurity. This is why it is important to extend strong protections against unscrupulous lenders to all Americans.

The MLA's successful track record demonstrates that providing 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. Nineteen States and the District of Columbia have enacted 36 percent APR caps or banned payday loans. 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 170 consumer advocacy groups, faith-based organizations, veteran service organizations, and trade associations that support this bill, 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, Amalgamated Bank, the Military Officers Association of America, and the National Military Family Association.

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

Madam President, today I am reintroducing the Predatory Lending Elimination Act along with 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, projections 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.

To 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 2 weeks. This practice can subject borrowers not just to high nominal interest rates but also to high fees that can quickly surpass the amount of money originally borrowed. These are hallmarks 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 COVID-19 pandemic, and continuing to pay exorbitant APRs may cause them to fall deeper into economic insecurity. This is why it is important to extend strong protections against unscrupulous lenders to all Americans.

The MLA's successful track record demonstrates that providing 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. Nineteen States and the District of Columbia have enacted 36 percent APR caps or banned payday loans. 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 170 consumer advocacy groups, faith-based organizations, veteran service organizations, and trade associations that support this bill, 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, Amalgamated Bank, the Military Officers Association of America, and the National Military Family Association.

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

Madam President, pursuant to rule XXVIII, paragraph 6, I move to waive all applicable points of order, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

I yield back all remaining time.

Vote on Motion to Waive

Mr. President, for the Committee on Armed Services I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Records on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that these nominations lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

Madam President, I am pleased to introduce the homebuyers Privacy Protection Act with the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Hagerty. This bipartisan legislation restricts the use of so-called mortgage ``trigger leads'' and gives prospective home buyers control over their personal credit information.

Trigger leads are essentially tips based on information the major credit reporting bureaus sell to mortgage brokers and lenders when the bureaus learn that a consumer has applied for a mortgage with another lender. Each trigger lead they sell can generate dozens of calls and solicitations to the consumer from lenders, ostensibly to provide the consumer with better offers. In fact, one home buyer reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that they received over 100 calls from other lenders within 2 days of applying for a mortgage. Prospective home buyers who are bombarded by these kind of solicitations typically have no idea their information was sold without their affirmative consent.

Buying a home is often the most consequential financial decision a family will make. Getting ``spammed'' with additional offers, after a family has already shopped for a mortgage and chosen a lender, makes this already stressful process even more stressful. It can be very difficult, if not impossible, for a family to sift through dozens of offers over a few days and actually receive better credit. Consumers who are subjected to a deluge of solicitations as the result of a trigger lead are justified in feeling that their privacy has been invaded.

Many reputable mortgage companies see it the same way. They support curtailing trigger leads since prospective home buyers often blame their lender for selling off their personal information even though it is the credit bureaus that are providing this information.

Unrelenting, aggressive solicitations are more than just a nuisance. Indeed, some companies that buy trigger leads may not use them responsibly and may have poor track records of compliance. In 2018, the Washington Post reported that some mortgage lenders had used trigger leads to misrepresent themselves in calls by suggesting that they are underwriters for the consumer's current lender or by implying that they are calling from a government agency. According to reporting in the Chicago Tribune, unsuspecting home buyers are at risk of inadvertently handing over sensitive personal information, exposing themselves to identity theft.

The current system leaves consumers without control of their personal information when they apply for a mortgage. Our bill will fix the current system by significantly restricting the circumstances in which the credit bureaus can sell home buyers' personal information to generate trigger leads. The credit bureaus would be permitted to sell this information only in the limited circumstances when the consumer already has a significant financial relationship with the lending institution seeking the information or when the prospective home buyer has provided affirmative consent to share this information broadly with other lenders.

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act will go a long way towards securing consumers' personal information and will provide much needed relief from the seemingly never-ending solicitations prospective home buyers receive during an already stressful time.

I thank the broad coalition of consumer advocacy groups and trade associations for their support, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low- income clients, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, the Community Home Lenders of

America, U.S. PIRG, the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, the Broker Action Coalition, the American Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers of America.

I urge my colleagues to join Senator Hagerty and me in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan bill.

Madam President, I am pleased to introduce the homebuyers Privacy Protection Act with the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Hagerty. This bipartisan legislation restricts the use of so-called mortgage ``trigger leads'' and gives prospective home buyers control over their personal credit information.

Trigger leads are essentially tips based on information the major credit reporting bureaus sell to mortgage brokers and lenders when the bureaus learn that a consumer has applied for a mortgage with another lender. Each trigger lead they sell can generate dozens of calls and solicitations to the consumer from lenders, ostensibly to provide the consumer with better offers. In fact, one home buyer reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that they received over 100 calls from other lenders within 2 days of applying for a mortgage. Prospective home buyers who are bombarded by these kind of solicitations typically have no idea their information was sold without their affirmative consent.

Buying a home is often the most consequential financial decision a family will make. Getting ``spammed'' with additional offers, after a family has already shopped for a mortgage and chosen a lender, makes this already stressful process even more stressful. It can be very difficult, if not impossible, for a family to sift through dozens of offers over a few days and actually receive better credit. Consumers who are subjected to a deluge of solicitations as the result of a trigger lead are justified in feeling that their privacy has been invaded.

Many reputable mortgage companies see it the same way. They support curtailing trigger leads since prospective home buyers often blame their lender for selling off their personal information even though it is the credit bureaus that are providing this information.

Unrelenting, aggressive solicitations are more than just a nuisance. Indeed, some companies that buy trigger leads may not use them responsibly and may have poor track records of compliance. In 2018, the Washington Post reported that some mortgage lenders had used trigger leads to misrepresent themselves in calls by suggesting that they are underwriters for the consumer's current lender or by implying that they are calling from a government agency. According to reporting in the Chicago Tribune, unsuspecting home buyers are at risk of inadvertently handing over sensitive personal information, exposing themselves to identity theft.

The current system leaves consumers without control of their personal information when they apply for a mortgage. Our bill will fix the current system by significantly restricting the circumstances in which the credit bureaus can sell home buyers' personal information to generate trigger leads. The credit bureaus would be permitted to sell this information only in the limited circumstances when the consumer already has a significant financial relationship with the lending institution seeking the information or when the prospective home buyer has provided affirmative consent to share this information broadly with other lenders.

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act will go a long way towards securing consumers' personal information and will provide much needed relief from the seemingly never-ending solicitations prospective home buyers receive during an already stressful time.

I thank the broad coalition of consumer advocacy groups and trade associations for their support, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low- income clients, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, the Community Home Lenders of

America, U.S. PIRG, the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, the Broker Action Coalition, the American Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers of America.

I urge my colleagues to join Senator Hagerty and me in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan bill.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask that the Journal of proceedings be approved to date.

Mr. President, I call for the regular order with respect to the conference report to accompany H.R. 2670.

Mr. President, I ask that Senator Ernst be permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes, and that, following the vote on the Ernst motion to table, Senators Hawley and Lujan be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

committee on foreign relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a classified briefing.

committee on health, education, labor, and pensions

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on the judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

committee on rules and administration

The Committee on Rules and Administration is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 3 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

select committee on intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a closed briefing.

subcommittee on public lands, forests, and mining

The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing.

permanent subcommittee on investigations

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 10:15 a.m., to conduct a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 13; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 2670 postcloture; further, that all time during adjournment, recess, morning business, and leader remarks count postcloture.