House Bill Protects Military Families, Targets Scam Artists
by Chad Groening
August 2, 2005
(AgapePress) - A member of the House Commerce Committee says the families of military personnel serving overseas would no longer fall victim to financial scam artists, thanks to a bill overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives.The bill, called the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act (H.R. 458), passed the House by a whopping 405-2 vote. The measure is designed to "prevent the sale of abusive insurance and investment products to military personnel," says the bill, which was sponsored by Republican Congressman Geoff Davis of Kentucky.
One of the co-sponsors of the legislation was Davis's fellow Republican, Chip Pickering of Mississippi. According to Pickering, the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act will target lending companies that sell unnecessary financial products and use predatory tactics on their victims.
"While our men and women are overseas -- many times leaving family behind to try to maintain not only the household but all the financial responsibilities -- we do not need scam artists and others who would try to take advantage of our military families while husbands and wives are overseas," he says.
Pickering says it is unfortunate that there are disreputable individuals who prey on the families of service personnel who must cope with the absence of a spouse or parent.
"You see scam artists who will prey on those families that may be under stress or duress. It just creates a situation that people, unfortunately, can be taken advantage of," the congressman explains. "[W]e want to make sure that the protections are in place and the punishment is there if anyone tries to do that."
Among other things, the bill targets payday lending companies that target military families with high-interest loans, and it prevents those lenders from contacting anyone in the borrower's chain of command in an attempt to collect on a loan.
The bill is now before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in the U.S. Senate.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
