“Congressman Andy Barr has taken tens of thousands of dollars from the payday lending industry and in return he has voted to defund and defang oversight of their predatory practices – those are indisputable facts that Andy Barr’s lawyer can’t magically make disappear. These are nothing more than desperate intimidation tactics from a congressman who wants to hide from his constituents that he has been in the pocket of the payday lending industry and worked to make it easier for them to prey on vulnerable communities.” – DCCC Spokesperson Jacob Peters
Take a look at a few of the ways Congressman Andy Barr has done the bidding of the payday lending industry to the detriment of his constituents:
- Backed a bill to end Operation Choke Point, which was a Department of Justice program that cracked down on banks that assisted online payday lenders with alleged consumer fraud.
- Voted against an amendment to allow the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to enforce payday loan regulations.
- Voted against prohibiting individuals convicted of predatory lending or fraud against servicemembers or veterans from serving on the board of the CFPB.
- Introduced a bill to eliminate the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which oversees the payday lending industry and fines wrongdoers.
- Voted for the Financial CHOICE Act that would have eliminated the ability of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to prosecute companies that break the law and dismantled the watchdog program that protects military families against predatory lending schemes. According to the Consumer Federation of America, the bill included “several provisions that negatively impact servicemembers, veterans, survivors, and their families.”
- Has stood silent while the Trump Administration has reconsidered implementing rules designed to prevent predatory lenders from trapping customers in debt then collecting fees and settlements.
- Accepted money from some of the biggest offenders of consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.