On February 25, more than 145 organizations from across the United States sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, encouraging her to follow through on her promise to create a robust, well-staffed climate hub at Treasury led by a very senior-level person devoted full-time to climate.
AFR joined a letter to Congress urging them to protect the next round of economic impact payments from assignment and garnishment.
AFR joined a letter to the House of Representatives urging them to cosponsor the Wall Street Tax Act of 2021, H.R. 328. Also called the Financial Tax Transaction Act (FTT), the bill would create significant revenues and reduce risk and volatility, reorienting Wall Street’s focus away from speculation toward long-term investments that support Main Street businesses, employees, and working families.
AFR Education Fund joined a letter to CFPB acting director Dave Uejio that highlighted actions the Bureau can take to address systemic discrimination in the credit markets. The letter outlined issues the Bureau can address immediately and in the long term in line with its focus on racial equity.
Statement of Alexis Goldstein, AFR’s Senior Policy Analyst, in response to President Biden’s comments on student debt cancellation at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Town Hall: President Biden’s Racial Economic Equity campaign plan called for an “immediate cancellation of a minimum of $10,000 in federal student loan
AFR Ed Fund joined our colleagues to send a letter opposing the National Credit Union Administration’s proposal to permit federal credit unions to leave negative account balances open for longer than the current limit of 45 days without any limits on overdrafts, overdraft fees, or NSF fees that can be assessed during this period. This proposal fails to consider the substantial risks it poses on credit union members who are facing economic challenges during the pandemic by exposing them to additional fees that only compound their financial distress.
AFR wrote a letter to Congress providing a number of policy recommendations that would help reign in SPAC mania and better protect investors.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund organized a letter to the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) in response to their advanced notice of proposed rule making (ANPR) on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The letter outlined a number of guiding principles and approaches to ensure that any changes to the CRA framework would be limited to measures that will increase equity in bank investments and access to sustainable, wealth-building credit in underserved communities as the statute intended.
AFR joined a letter strongly supporting the Force Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR Act). The letter stated that the legislation would ensure that workers, consumers, servicemembers, nursing home residents, ordinary investors, and small businesses harmed by bad actors will be able to bring valid claims in court, and would not be forced into private, secretive, corporate-controlled arbitration systems required by nonnegotiable contracts. It argued for the particular need for Congress to move forward with this legislation in light of the economic hardship facing working families during the pandemic.
AFR joined a letter urging Congress to expand assistance to homeowners in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The letter, which followed a previous letter to the Biden Administration urging for similar protections, requested that the upcoming COVID relief package include $25 billion for direct assistance to homeowners, with the bulk of the funds deployed through state housing finance agencies through the Homeowner Assistance Fund and including at least $100 million for housing counseling and $39.7 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program.