In May 2016 Maxine Waters introduced a bill to reform Credit Reporting regulations

[ehrnst]

Time to step up, and encourage our congressional reps to join her in reviving this in light of recent events:

(BOSTON) A broad coalition of consumer, civil rights, labor, and community organizations issued a letter strongly urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to support of H.R. 5282, the Comprehensive Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 2016, introduced today by Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Credit reports and credit scores are the gatekeeper for affordable credit, insurance, rental housing, and sometimes even a job. The reforms addressed in the bill are urgently needed in order to ensure that the American credit reporting system is accurate and fair to consumers..

In a 2012 study, the Federal Trade Commission found that 21% of consumers had verified errors in their credit reports, 13% had errors that affected their credit scores, and 5% had errors serious enough to be denied or pay more for credit.


"We applaud Congresswoman Waters for introducing a bill that will vastly improve the credit reporting system, and with it, the economic lives of millions of Americans," said National Consumer Law Center staff attorney Chi Chi Wu. “It reforms the broken dispute process, improves the accuracy of credit reports, repairs the credit of victimized homeowners and defrauded student loan borrowers, shortens the overly long time limits for negative information, provides free annual credit scores, severely restricts employment use of credit reports, tackles medical debt, cracks down on misleading marketing of credit monitoring products, and does so much more."

https://www.nclc.org/media-center/broad-coalition-advocates-urges-fcra-reform.html

[shenmue]

1. Pass it!

[ehrnst]

2. She doesn't get the press for her work that others get

but she's a tireless advocate for the working people.

[shenmue]

3. Yes

[JCanete]

4. what's the point...never going to pass in a republican held congress...please put time and effort

into something possible...like maybe raises for congress members.

[ehrnst]

6. In light of recent events, this could be bipartisan - because more than 1/2 of

Americans were affected.

And it's not like this legislation would claim to turn a battleship as large as 17% of the GDP in under 20 years without major disruptions to something as basic as delivery of healthcare.

It's just strengthening and expanding existing consumer protections on credit reporting, which is the function of the FCRA.

I know that Maxine is "unlikeable" to many in the GOP - perhaps even more so than Nancy Pelosi (which apparently is something that is currently presumed to be a new metric of whether a Democratic female is fit to lead) but perhaps if some other reps that are less odious to the left would give it some publicity, I think this could be a real victory for Dems. Even those that soil themselves with the corruption of working in teams across the aisle.

And it's not like it's the Senate...

Is that clearer?

[JCanete]

7. why would the GOP do anything at all for the consumer? Weigh the political realities. Currently

there is no clamour or cry in the public to get this done, so there is no political will, thus no pressure for the GOP to respond by turning their backs on those that pad their campaigns. Nonstarter.

Sure, its smaller than something like Medicare for All...more bite-sized. We may not get medicare for all as the next step, but if we could actually threaten it, for real? Maybe we'd get the public option on bipartisan lines as a compromise.

[ehrnst]

8. Because of recent events that affected more than half the population.

In case you weren't aware, there is indeed a clamor and cry:

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/equifax-melts-down-under-surge-angry-consumers-n800991

They need a win. This isn't controversial. It doesn't cost very much. So if we can count on hordes of people not freaking out and screaming, "But why are the establismen Democrats even TALKING to the GOP on ANYTHING!!" we might be able to get something done.

And Equifax is not in a position to argue.

I think that's the opposite of non-starter.

[JCanete]

9. I grant you entirely that it should actually be done. I'll even accept that they are equivalants,

but its not like Health care hasn't been a huge topic as of late, so it seems like the right time to promote a better plan.

[ehrnst]

10. You seem to still be rather perturbed and disturbed concerning

my posts on another topic, as shown in some kind of an attempt on your part to make it seem like somehow my opinions on one negate the other.

I hope it doesn't keep you up tonight. Sleep is important.

[JCanete]

11. I skipped a word somehow...was supposed to say that they were not equivalents, which was intended as

a concession to your perspective without agreeing with it. So no, I just disagree with the reasoning that you don't push something because it can't be done due to political climate, unless there is a really strong case to be made that pushing for it will actually do harm to the candidate's chances. I don't really think that argument can be supported with any strong evidence as a reason to not promote medicare-for-all or single payer at this time.

And again, while I won't hold my breath that the GOP will work with democrats to usher in more consumer protections, I absolutely agree that we should pressure them while the iron is hot.

[ehrnst]

12. I just disagree with the reasoning that you continue push something

that can't be done due to political climate, because (as we saw in the repeated votes to "repeal and replace&quot it costs money, it's a false promise, and is not worth the case to be made that pushing for it will protect a candidate from being primaried on it.

"I don't really think that argument can be supported with any strong evidence as a reason to not promote medicare-for-all or single payer at this time. "

If it stifles support for actually moving forward with ACA expansion, for which strong evidence can be found to make that case right here on DU, that is a VERY good reason not to promote "Medicare for All" as the only way to achieve universal health coverage.

And the refusal to discuss lessons learned from Vermont indicates to me that this isn't really something that's been thought through in detail, as much as it is intended to be taken as Dogma, like "Defund Planned Parenthood" is on the right.

If Sanders was to have a discussion about what happened in Vermont, instead of avoiding the questions, I would have more confidence that "Single Payer or Bust" isn't just dogma, and a demand that everyone fall in line behind him, or face being primaried.

[lunamagica]

5. K&R.