Congressman Jones Stands up for Service Members | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    WASHINGTON, DC     This week Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) voted against legislation (H.R. 10) that could harm America's service members. Of particular concern were provisions in the bill that would remove the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate small-dollar loans, like payday loans, despite evidence of pervasive predatory practices focused on service members. Earlier this week, national veterans and active duty service organizations, including the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) sent letters to the House flagging these provisions as problematic. Consumer groups also raised concerns about the bill's impact on military families.

    "When service members are being taken advantage of, it's wrong for Congress to take the cop off the beat," said Congressman Jones. "Doing so will not only hurt men and women in uniform and their families, it will negatively affect the readiness of our armed forces and cost the taxpayers. As DOD has stated in a report to Congress: 'predatory lending undermines military readiness, harms the morale of troops and their families, and adds to the cost of fielding an all-volunteer fighting force.'"

    H.R. 10 passed the House on Thursday afternoon on a vote 233 - 186, and now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

    For additional information, please contact Allison Tucker in Congressman Jones' office at (202) 225-3415 or allison.tucker@mail.house.gov.