Washington, DC – Democratic Members of the House Armed Services Committee today sent a letter to Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter requesting that the final conference report of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY07, which is expected to go to conference next week, include a Senate provision that limits the percentage rate on payday loans made to service members and their families.

“Predatory lending not only hurts service members and their dependents, it is having an impact on our nation’s security,” said Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas, ranking member of the HASC Subcommittee on Personnel.  “Service members in financial trouble, who have attempted to solve their problems through predatory lending, often find themselves deeper in debt, and in some cases their financial situations have led to the loss of security clearances, letters of reprimand, non-judicial punishment, and ultimately separation from the military.”

The provision would also require lenders to disclose in writing the annual percentage rate, a clear description of the payment obligations, and any other disclosures required by the Truth in Lending Act.  It would additionally establish clear penalties for violators.

On August 9, the Department of Defense issued a report that found “predatory lending practices are prevalent and target military personnel, either through proximity and prevalence around military installations, or through the use of affinity marketing techniques, particularly on-line.”

Reps. John Spratt, Solomon Ortiz, Lane Evans, Gene Taylor, Marty Meehan, Ellen Tauscher, Susan Davis, Steve Israel, Jim Cooper, Mark Udall and Silvestre Reyes signed the letter to Chairman Hunter.