Even the terrible President George W. Bush would have known better. It’s one thing to send our troops to a war of choice (like Iraq) and not give them adequate supplies (like insufficiently armored vehicles Rumsfeld wouldn’t dare ride in).
It’s quite another to say that our troops don't deserve protection at home from greedy, unscrupulous banks and credit card companies while they’re abroad putting their lives on the line for American interests.
Under President Bush, the words “Support Our Troops” often sounded hollow, but at least he did sign the Military Lending Act of 2006 into law.
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) came into existence under Richard Cordray, appointed by President Barack Obama, the Department of Defense realized that it made sense for the new agency to enforce the Military Lending Act.
Now, with Ersatzführer Donald Trump incorrectly appointing Mick Mulvaney to the CFPB, the Military Lending Act might just go out the window. Emily Stewart reports for Vox:
The federal government’s top consumer watchdog has decided it no longer needs to proactively supervise banks, credit card companies, and other lenders who deal with members of the military and their families to make sure they’re not committing fraud or abuse.
Critics, baffled by the decision from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, say it will put service members in the claws of predatory lenders and put their careers and livelihoods — and potentially US national security — at risk.
The bureau’s supervisory staff offices have typically conducted proactive checks that make sure lenders aren’t charging military members exorbitant interest rates, pushing them into forced arbitration, or otherwise not following guidelines outlined in the Military Lending Act, a 2006 law that protects active duty military members and their families from financial fraud, predatory loans, and credit gouging.
Now the agency, under interim director Mick Mulvaney, is planning to end its use of these supervisory examinations of lenders, according to recent reports from the New York Times and NPR. Instead, the bureau will only be able to take action against lenders if it receives a complaint.
I can already imagine all sorts of nightmare scenarios with the CFPB having to wait for a complaint instead of actively monitoring lenders for compliance.
For one, consider that writing bad checks and dishonorably failing to pay are UCMJ offenses that can get a soldier sent to Fort Leavenworth. At what point would the soldier or his counsel think of complaining to the CFPB?
The lawyer for a predatory lender would probably cast doubt on the credibility of a soldier whose complaint to the CFPB wasn't received until after he was checked into Leavenworth.
It is also easy to imagine scenarios in which a soldier bogged down in debt from a payday advance loan doesn’t go to prison but loses a security clearance and is then cashiered out of the service.
The car dealership is another arena in which predatory lenders can scam our active duty personnel.
NPR reports that the Trump administration has also proposed changes that could open service members up to predatory practices when they buy cars. The administration has proposed easing restrictions on “gap insurance,” an add-on to car insurance ...
Gap insurance is typically available from regular insurance companies for a very low price, as little as $20 to $30 a year, but car dealers often mark it up by hundreds of dollars. Current rules effectively block auto dealers from tacking on overpriced gap insurance to military service members, but the administration has sent a proposal to the Defense Department looking to revise the rules. (If the proposal does eventually make it out of the Defense Department, it will ultimately require the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, which Mulvaney also heads.)
Gee, I wonder what Mulvaney will do when that lands on his desk at the Office of Management and Budget.
Under Richard Cordray, the CFPB was looking out for our troops’ money. If there is any doubt about that, read this Stars and Stripes report from 2014:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday [July 29, 2014] it had obtained nearly $100 million in debt relief for 17,000 consumers — primarily military servicemembers — who owned money to Colfax Capital Corp. and Culver Capital, LLC, known collectively as Rome Finance.
...
“Rome Finance’s business model was built on fleecing servicemembers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “... Today, their long run of picking the pockets of our military has come to an ignominious end.”
...
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel lauded the order [stopping collections, correcting credit reports and fining Rome Finance], saying in a written statement, “No one who serves our country in uniform — especially during a time of war — should ever fall victim to predatory financial practices, and today’s announcement is an important step in righting this wrong.”
That’s another Obama-era legacy Trump wants to dismantle. For draft dodger Trump, the troops are props for his egomaniacal displays. For Mulvaney, the troops are marks to be exploited by his loan shark friends.