WASHINGTON UPDATE
By Maureen Thompson
NACBA Legislative Director
T
his is the latest issue of our
weekly update from Washington,
designed to keep NACBA
members informed about significant
and relevant activity on the part of
Congress, regulatory agencies and
interest groups/think tanks. Feedback
should be di rected to Maureen
Thompson.
Sherman (D-CA)– a member of the
House Financial Services Committee
– introduced legislation that will give
Wells Fargo customers who were
victims of a fraudulent account scheme
their day in court. Wells Fargo is using
the forced arbitration clauses it tucked
away in the fine print of contracts
customers signed when they opened
legitimate accounts to block them from
Obviously, the big news out of suing over the fraudulent accounts.
Washington is the election results. Read more about the bill here.
NACBA members who joined us for
the November 18 webinar, “The 2016 Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), chairman of
Election: What Now?” heard NACBA the Senate Budget Committee reacted
leaders and our representatives in to a General Accountability Office
Washington answer the questions (GAO) report on the cost of Department
about what to expect in 2017 from of
Education’s
Income
Driven
the Administration, Congress and the Repayment (IDR) plans for student
courts. We are planning to issue a loans (see “In the Agencies) by harshly
special repot next week after President- criticizing the Department, which is
Elect Trump announces his full roster responsible for calculating the cost
of cabinet picks. We will focus not of the program. “This Administration
only on what to expect from the White has been manipulating the terms of
House come January, but also the the student loan program without the
key agencies of interest to NACBA: consent of Congress, while shirking its
Department of Justice, Consumer statutory duty to carefully assess the
Financial Protection Bureau, and the cost impact of those changes,” Enzi
Department of Education, as well as said in a statement. “It will be crucial to
the leadership and key committees in consider updates to the Federal Credit
Congress.
Reform Act because Congress is not
receiving credible, transparent cost
Continue reading for non-election news data under the existing statute, as this
out of Washington this week.
report suggests.”
ON THE HILL Congress remains
focused on Wells Fargo. Senator
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – ranking
member on the Senate Banking
Committee – and Representative Brad
18
CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL
A group of 21 current and former
members of Congress filed an amicus
brief in support of the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB)
petition filed with the D.C. Circuit
Winter 2016
seeking a rehearing of its decision in
CFPB v PHH Corporation. Read the
brief here.
IN THE AGENCIES The Government
Accountability Office (GAO) released
a report critical of the Department of
Education’s approach to estimating
the cost of income-based student
loan repayment plans, which allow
borrowers to make student loan
payments based on how much they
make. According to the GAO report,
these plans will cost more than twice
as much as the Education Department
expected them to. The Education
Department’s approach to estimating
the costs of the repayment plan “do not
ensure reliable budget estimates,” the
GAO report says.
The Education Department responded
to the GAO report, saying it “generally
concurs” with the findings, but noted
that “the decisions made (and critiqued
in this report) were based on existing
staff and systems resources available,
assessed impact, and consideration
for conservatism.” “The lifecycle of a
student loan is exceedingly complex,
with a multitude of projection paths
and outcomes,” the department’s
response said. “Estimating the federal
cost of student loans is a task we take
very seriously, and we are constantly
seeking to enhance and refine our cost
estimation models.”
On November 18, the CFPB petitioned
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys