Yesterday, we ran the alarming news in our NewsWorthy section that military families are being exploited by predatory lenders. According to a new Pentagon report, as many as "one in five members of the armed services are being preyed on by loan centers set up near military bases that can charge cash-strapped military families interest of 400% or more." Today, David Sirota explains how Congress actually contemplated protecting military families from just this predicament, but couldn't muster the political will.
David Sirota explains how Congress turned its backs on military families in order to pass the bankruptcy bill:
Back in 2005, when the credit card industry lobbyists were corralling Republican and Democratic lawmakers to vote for the corporate-written Bankruptcy Bill, Sen. Dick Durbin offered an amendment (details attached) to preserve existing protections for troops serving in Iraq. National Guardsmen, for instance, sometimes are forced to take a pay cut from their regular jobs when they are called into service and deployed overseas. Lord knows our soldiers serving in Iraq have enough to worry about - and gutting their bankruptcy protections while they were deployed was something Durbin thought was unacceptable. Unfortunately, only 38 of his Senate colleagues agreed with him, and his amendment was defeated. Those voting against the amendment included Montana Sen. Conrad Burns (R), Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine (R), Virginia Sen. George Felix Allen, Jr., Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R), Missouri Sen. Jim Talent (R), Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R)...
Now, according to a new Pentagon report highlighted by USA Today (story linked below), "As many as one in five members of the armed services are being preyed on by loan centers set up near military bases that can charge cash-strapped military families interestso of 400% or more." Let's be clear - trying to take advantage of soldiers at a time of war when they are under stress is a form of war profiteering. And thanks to our bought-off Congress - it's all perfectly legal.
To see the original Senate vote, go to:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00013
To see background on Durbin's amendment, go to:
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=233501
--Alexandra Walker |
Friday, September 1, 2006 1:19 PM
