Following an announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of its intent to draft rules to deter payday lending abuse, and in advance of President Obama’s trip to Birmingham, Alabama to speak about the matter, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, underscored her support for the Bureau’s action.

Waters, a strong advocate of the agency’s successful work to protect American consumers, offered the following statement:

“I join the White House in support of the important work the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is doing to rein in payday lenders that have turned a business intended to help hard working consumers stay out of financial trouble into one that often creates trouble instead.

Low-income borrowers need access to small-dollar loans for the kinds of emergencies we all face, but the terms of these loans must be reasonable and not give rise to the kinds of debt traps that have come to characterize the payday industry. What the CFPB has announced today is a starting point, and I am hopeful that this process will eventually yield a strong and simple rule that protects our low-income and minority communities from unaffordable rates and unfair terms.”

In just a few short years since its inception, the CFPB has provided more than $5 billion in relief to 15 million Americans.

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