Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Federal Reserve issued a new report that recommends Congress scrap the loophole that has allowed big banks to own physical commodities: “It is common sense that big banks that are placing bets on the prices of commodities shouldn’t also be
Months before a federal agency proposed a new rule threatening the profits of exploitative payday lenders across America, the industry’s leaders gathered at a posh resort in the Bahamas to prepare for war. At the March strategy session, Gil Rudolph of Greenberg Traurig, one of several law firms working with the lenders,
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley called on Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Richard Shelby to act on strong bipartisan support for the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank by confirming the EXIM Bank Board of Directors nominee to restore the operating quorum. Small businesses across America, including
Sens. Sherrod Brown and Jeff Merkley called on financial regulators to provide more information about their oversight of fintech companies, while raising concerns that a murky framework could be harmful to consumers and small businesses. Brown, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Merkley, the top Democrat on the
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today called on the leaders of the U.S. banking and consumer protection agencies to outline steps they are taking to ensure effective oversight of the emerging financial technology, or “fintech,” marketplace. The Senators made their request in a
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, 28 U.S. Senators—led by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chris Coons (D-DE)—wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) expressing support for the agency’s small-dollar lending rule and encouraging the consumer agency to strengthen consumer protections in the proposed rule
Ten Senate Democrats want to know how the Federal Communications Commission and the Office of Management and Budget “intend to help protect consumers from receiving intrusive robocalls from the federal government and its contractors” following a recent FCC decision to exempt the government from those rules. “We are concerned that consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Federal Reserve announced that they would again delay implementation of a key part of the Volcker Rule, this time until 2017: “It’s been six years since the Volcker Rule became law, and unbelievably, the Fed still doesn’t
Washington, DC (July 7, 2016)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Wage and Garnishment Equity Act of 2016 (WAGE Act) to protect workers from losing their entire paychecks to wage and bank garnishments. “Predatory debt
Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced that the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill includes key provisions to help Oregon small businesses compete in the global economy. The bill also includes language to address the growing problem of tax identity theft. “We should be doing everything we
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