Policy Matters Testifies in Congress
on Payday Lending

On March 21, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a hearing on predatory mortgages, payday loans, and foreclosures that plague inner-city America. This was be the first in a series of hearings Subcommittee Chairman Kucinich plans to hold looking at various issues afflicting urban America.

David Rothstein, Researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, testified at the hearing regarding the massive growth of payday lenders in Ohio – from 107 in 1996 to 1562 in 2006. Also included in Rothstein’s testimony was the figure that there were more payday lenders in Ohio during 2006 than McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s restaurants combined. Rothstein recommended to the Committee that Congress extend the recent protections of the Talent-Nelson Amendment, mainly a 36 percent rate cap on payday loans, to all working families in America.

 

Read the Testimony

Trapped in Debt: The Growth of Payday Lending in Ohio

Housing Research and Advocacy Center website

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3/21/2007