Rashida Tlaib: “We know it is expensive to be poor in our country; that we live in a country with a system that continues to put profit…”

“We know it is expensive to be poor in our country; that we live in a country with a system that continues to put profit before our people, and it must stop. In my home State of Michigan, communities that are more than a quarter Black and Latino have 50 percent more payday lenders than anywhere else in the State. These lenders target our communities, the most financially vulnerable communities. Payday lenders in Michigan are 62 percent more common in low-income Census tracts compared to statewide average. That is what folks mean when they say that we need to abolish structural racism in our country. You cannot justify loans of 100 percent APR or higher as providing access to credit when they trap borrowers in destructive cycles of debt and ruin their credit. World Business Lenders offered loans of upwards of 268 percent of APR, despite the fact that its rent-a-bank partner was regulated by the OCC. They found a way around the rules, and that is unacceptable. OCC's rules leave States like our State of Michigan no ability to enforce their own State rate caps, giving predatory lenders free rein to exploit our neighbors with outrageous APRs. Repealing the true lender rule is the first step toward protecting borrowers from predatory lenders, and I am proud to support it. Mr. McHENRY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore), a great new Member of the Congress.”