coronavirus Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Americans for Financial Reform

In The News: How the COVID-19 Bailout Gave Wall Street a No-Lose Casino (Rolling Stone)

In place of a heartless free market of panicked investors who might want to cut their losses and sell, the plan is to simulate real buying and selling of financial products like mortgages and bonds with directed deployments of the Fed’s endless trillions. And they will be endless … Marcus Stanley of Americans for Financial Reform said, “The Fed’s perspective on this is, they want to create normalcy.” But what does “normal” mean in an economy that may be changed forever?

Fact Sheet: Private Equity Industry Poised to Profit from the Federal Reserve’s New Lending Programs

Private equity funds could access government assistance for their portfolio companies while avoiding any responsibility to repay any debt or obligations to the public purse. Private equity firms could also tap government aid to finance leveraged buyout purchases of additional companies, using public money to load target companies with debt and drain their assets while avoiding any responsibility for paying that debt back.

Letter to Congress: 17 Organizations Urge Immediate Bipartisan Action to Begin Oversight Functions of the New House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis

It’s crucial the new House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis start oversight work as soon as possible. By doing so, the Subcommittee can make recovery efforts more effective and guarantee that government agencies are good stewards of public money.

Letter to Congress: 27 Organizations Support the Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act.

Public advocates sent a letter to Congress in support of the Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act, a proposal from Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to prevent big corporations and Wall Street investors from exploiting the pandemic to further consolidate their economic and political power.

Letter to Congress: Renewed Call for Credit and Debt Protections in COVID-19 Relief

Letter calling on Congress to include consumer protections in COVID-19 relief

Joint Letter: Letter to Housing Regulators on Tenant Protections in CARES Act

Joint letter asking FHFA, HUD, VA and USDA to provide tenants with a mechanism to identify whether their apartment, home, or manufactured housing is covered by the tenant protections in the CARES Act

Joint Letter: Letter to FHA Urging Greater COVID-19 Protections for Borrowers

Coalition letter to FHA on clarifying and improving protections for borrowers facing hardship related to covid-19.

Policy Recommendations: Critical Post-CARES Act Financial Policy Steps to Respond to the Coronavirus

Americans for Financial Reform released a set of financial policy recommendations for Congress to fix the problems and loopholes in the CARES Act, to further protect and support individuals, families and communities in the face of this crisis, and to lay the groundwork for an equitable and sustainable economic recovery.

Letter to Congress: Joint Letter Asking Congress to Protect COVID-19 Stimulus Checks from Garnishment

AFR joined this letter to Congress urging Congress to take the steps needed as soon as possible to clarify that COVID-19 stimulus payments to help households during this public health emergency are exempt from garnishments. View or download pdf here.

News Release: Fed Must Set Priorities, Impose Conditions, Ensure Transparency for Coronavirus Funding

Absent major changes, the Federal Reserve’s multi-trillion-dollar funding programs will reward corporate insiders and financial speculators, without guaranteeing desperately needed help for those hardest-hit by the coronavirus crisis. The Fed needs to set the right priorities for this credit and impose conditions that ensure the benefits of this extraordinary assistance go to those who need it most.