Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Deceptive Loan Check Elimination Act Thursday to prohibit companies from sending “live” loan checks to consumers. In these schemes, financial institutions send unsuspecting customers a check made out to them for some amount. Customers often assume that their financial institutions have
WASHINGTON, DC – As top Obama Administration officials prepare for a meeting with the nation’s mortgage servicing companies, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today urged the Administration to take a number of steps to make it easier for homeowners at risk of foreclosure to modify the terms of their mortgages. “With
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke, announced today that the Federal Reserve is recommending new rules to benefit consumers, including a ban on yield spread premiums, also known as steering payments. The new rules also require lenders to provide borrowers with a straightforward explanation of
WASHINGTON, DC – A report released today by the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) of the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) details how the current buyback policies could be costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley asked the Treasury Department to pursue a new course that would ensure taxpayers’
Washington D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley joined President Obama today at the signing ceremony for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products for the first time. The legislation includes an amendment from Senator Merkley and Senator
Washington, DC – The White House plan to overhaul regulation of the financial markets includes several prominent elements championed by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley to strengthen consumer protections and improve oversight. “Wall Street executives took ordinary investments and turned the financial markets into Las Vegas. They bet big, lost, and
Washington, DC – This week, President Barack Obama will lay out principles for the upcoming debate over modernizing regulations of the financial market. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley is urging the White House to include strong protections for consumers in that effort. The lack of clear regulations and strong protections for
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) visited Southwestern Oregon on Wednesday, May 27 as part of an effort to make yearly visits to every county in the state. Merkley spent that morning at Hope Mountain in Illinois Valley learning about biomass and forest-thinning projects recently begun in the area. He then met
WASHINGTON — Twelve years after Joe Camel’s forced retirement for luring children into a life of smoking, Congress is confronting another slickly advertised threat that some lawmakers and public health officials say is even more worrisome — tobacco that dissolves in the mouth and tastes like candy. “The future of
The U.S. Senate passed by 90-to-5 Tuesday the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act. It will help end to deceptive practices and hidden fees by credit card companies and protect families here in Oregon and around the U.S.. Our Sen. Jeff Merkley, a co-sponsor, urged the White House to
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