Luis Gutierrez pushing "loophole-riddled" payday lending bill after receiving donations from industry

From this:

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who heads the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, is pushing a loophole-riddled bill that would allow payday lenders to charge annual interest rates of nearly 400 percent - a proposal widely condemned by consumer advocates and some liberal Democrats, who want to put payday lenders out of business altogether... Gutierrez wasn’t always so kind to the industry. In 2006, he supported the successful effort that effectively banned payday loans to members of the military by capping interest rates for those borrowers at 36 percent... ...in an interview with The Associated Press last week, the Illinois Democrat conceded that the growing influence of the payday lending industry contributed to his change of heart... The top contributor to his 2008 campaign was payday lender QC Holdings, which donated $10,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Another payday powerhouse, the Online Lenders Alliance, contributed an additional $4,600...

Fri, 04/10/2009 - 14:41 · · Importance: 4