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AFR Press Statement: Senate Banking Committee hearing on Empowering and Protecting Servicemembers, Veterans and their Families in the Consumer Financial Marketplace

We applaud Senator Johnson for holding this important hearing. In 2006, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a “Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the Armed Forces and Their Dependents”, which concluded that “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.” In surveys conducted by DoD last year, personal finances ranked second on the list of causes of stress for servicemembers, second only to career concerns. Financial problems are now the top cause of revocation of military security clearances.

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CFA Press Release: Oil Speculation on Wall Street Devastates Household Budgets on Main Street

Dr. Mark Cooper, CFA Director of Research, submitted the following statement for the record of the hearing on Excessive Speculation and Compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, being conducted by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, along with CFA’s recent report entitled Excessive Speculation and Oil Price Shock Recessions: A Case of Wall Street ‘Déjà vu All Over Again.’

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AFR in the News: Protesters Rally Around Trading Tax

Eliza Newlin Carney (Roll Call)

“After weeks of waving signs and chanting with no clear policy objective, Occupy Wall Street protesters finally have an issue to rally around: a tax on Wall Street. Known in Occupy movement parlance as the ‘Robin Hood tax,’ taxes on trades of stocks, bonds and derivatives are getting a fresh look on Capitol Hill and may draw thousands of protesters to Washington, D.C., next week. Helping lead the charge are an unlikely breed of tax activist: registered nurses. … ‘There [are] people in the streets angry about economic inequality, and angry about what Wall Street has gotten away with,’ said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform, which supports both bills.

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AFR in the News: Analysis: Volcker pay curbs spark fears of Wall St. exodus

Dave Clarke (Reuters)

“The Volcker rule has created a new battlefield over Wall Street pay that banks fear will send their star traders and hedge fund advisers fleeing. … ‘The question is whether just saying that compensation arrangements cannot encourage proprietary risk taking is enough or whether they have to be more specific,’ said Marcus Stanley, policy director for the group Americans for Financial Reform.”

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AFR in the News: Transaction Tax On Financial Speculation Gets Boost From Occupy Wall Street

Ryan Grim (Huffington Post)

“Boosted by the Occupy Wall Street movement, two Democrats in the House and Senate are renewing a push for a transaction tax on speculative trades. … Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of progressive and labor organizations focused on reforming Wall Street, threw its weight behind the tax in a letter to the super committee:”