Page 2 The Skanner April 11, 2018
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SPECIAL SECTION:
FAIR HOUSING
April 18
to
y •
Opinion
few months ago, the
Thurgood
Marshall
College Fund (TMCF)
was proud to welcome
the presidents and chancel-
lors from 30 Historically
Black Colleges and Univer-
sities (HBCUs) and Predom-
inantly Black Institutions
(PBIs) to Washington, D.C. for
the second annual HBCU Fly-
In held in conjunction with
the leadership of Senator Tim
Scott (R-S.C.) and Represen-
tative Mark Walker (R-N.C.),
who are both members of the
very important, bipartisan
HBCU Caucus.
My experience as a former
HBCU president and now
leader of TMCF, working on
behalf of our 47 publicly-sup-
ported HBCUs, gives me a
broad perspective on the fed-
eral government’s partner-
ship with HBCUs, as delivered
through this event’s multiple
listening sessions and direct
engagement
opportunities
with members of Congress
and senior leadership within
the Trump Administration.
Thanks to the commitment
of dozens of our HBCU pres-
idents and chancellors who
attended our inaugural con-
vening and this year’s fly-in,
we’re beginning to see major
developments from several
federal agencies looking to
Dr. Harry L.
Williams
Pres. & CEO,
Thurgood
Marshall
College Fund
increase support for HBCUs
and to create more opportu-
nities for our scholars.
Thanks to our collective
advocacy, several HBCUs that
were devastated by Hurri-
“
We’re begin-
ning to see
major de-
velopments
from several
federal agen-
cies looking
to increase
support for
HBCUs
cane Katrina in 2005 received
total forgiveness of outstand-
ing loans awarded for the res-
toration of their campuses in
the hurricane’s aftermath.
Southern University at New
Orleans, Dillard University,
Xavier University, and Tou-
galoo College are free of their
repayment obligations on
more than $300 million in fed-
eral loans, because of direct
engagement with and action
from this administration and
congressional leadership on
issues of critical importance
to our HBCU’s, like this one.
Perhaps the most signifi-
cant indicator of our grow-
ing partnership has been the
achievement of level funding
in the President’s FY’ 2019
budget proposal and within
the recent Omnibus Appro-
priations Bills. For example,
the FY’ 2018 Omnibus Appro-
priations bill had major wins
for HBCUs:
Pell Grant Maximum Award
• FY’17 Funding Level: $5,920
(per student)
• FY’18 Funding Level: $6,095
(+$175/increase of 2.96 per-
cent)
Title III, Part B and F,
Strengthening HBCUs Un-
dergraduate Programs
• FY’17 Funding Level: $244.6
million
• FY’18 Funding Level: $279.6
million (+$34 million/in-
crease of 14.3 percent)
Title III, Part B, Strengthen-
ing HBCUs Graduate Pro-
grams
• FY’17 Funding Level: $63.2
million
• FY’18 Funding Level: $72.3
million (+$9 million/in-
crease of 14.3 percent)
Title III, Part A, Strengthen-
ing PBI Program
• FY’17 Funding Level: $9.9
million
• FY’18 Funding Level: $11.3
million (+$1.4 million/in-
crease of 14.3 percent)
Title VII, Masters Degree
Program at HBCUs and PBIs
• FY’17 Funding Level: $7.5
million
• FY’18
Funding
Level:
$8.5million (+$1 million/in-
crease of 14.3 percent)
We are cognizant that many
lawmakers in the majority in
Congress favor fiscal auster-
ity to address budgetary is-
sues, but in a legislative envi-
ronment dominated by talks
of budget cuts, critical HBCU
funding lines were increased,
which is a demonstrable re-
turn on our collective invest-
ment in bipartisan engage-
ment.
Indeed, TMCF’s decision
not to resist, but instead en-
gage in a strategic way and
bipartisan fashion on behalf
of our nearly 300,000 HBCU
students who need a voice in
Congress and with the Trump
Administration has borne
fruit at many levels.
What a Difference a Director Makes at CFPB
I
n 1959, the late Dinah Wash-
ington won a Grammy for
her R&B hit song, “What a
Difference a Day Makes.”
The song tells the story of
how a blossoming romance
dramatically changed life. Its
last lyrics conclude that “the
difference is you.”
When I consider the steady
stream of changes at the Con-
sumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB), I would alter
those lyrics to “What a Differ-
ence a Director Makes.”
Mick Mulvaney, the “illegal-
ly” appointed acting director
of the CFPB, has indeed rad-
ically changed the bureau.
Central to these changes is
his perspective that there is
no need for the CFPB to car-
ry out its mission to serve as
the consumers’ financial cop
on the beat — defending and
protecting against deceptive,
unfair and illegal practices in
the financial marketplace.
For six years, America’s
consumers had a bureau that
won significant victories in
the name of financial jus-
tice. CFPB was so effective
that 29 million consumers
received nearly $12 billion.
In the aftermath of the hous-
ing crisis that devolved into
a deep recession, a federal
law assigned authority to ac-
cept complaints, investigate
and when warranted, take
enforcement actions against
bad financial actors. Rules af-
fecting financial transactions
as large as mortgages and as
Charlene
Crowell
NNPA
Columnist
small as payday loans were fi-
nalized after extensive public
hearings where lenders and
borrowers alike were afford-
ed the opportunity to share
their respective views before
“
He’s not yet
done with
rolling back
consumer
protections,
particularly
when it comes
to payday and
other small
dollar loans
any decisions were reached.
The bottom line for CFPB
was to act on the law’s re-
quirement to implement fi-
nancial rules of the road to
protect both consumers and
lenders. Additionally, CFPB
was to seek restitution for the
victims of predatory and ille-
gal practices.
Now as CFPB’s Acting Di-
rector Mulvaney has sys-
tematically implemented a
series of changes that so far
have weakened the Bureau’s
mission statement and tak-
en steps to handicap the Bu-
reau’s Office of Fair Lending
that is charged with coun-
tering financial discrimina-
tion. He has also begun steps
to rewrite the long-awaited
payday lending rule that re-
quires lenders to ensure that
borrowers can afford to repay
these small-dollar loans that
come with big costs.
Even worse: he’s not yet
done with rolling back con-
sumer protections, particu-
larly when it comes to payday
and other small dollar loans.
A series of CFPB investiga-
tions conducted before Mul-
vaney’s appointment are now
in jeopardy. Instead of hold-
ing businesses accountable
for debt trap loans and ha-
rassing debt collection prac-
tices, Mulvaney has reported-
ly dropped an investigation
against National Credit Ad-
justors and may do the same
with respect to Cash Express
LLC, Security Finance, and
Triton Management Group.
If allowed to proceed, these
investigations could together
return an estimated $60 mil-
lion to harmed consumers.
It’s almost as if CFPB now
stands for Companies’ Fi-
nancial Protection Bureau.
Companies are being asked
to advise Mulvaney of what
they think financial regula-
tion should look like. Instead
of investigations and enforce-
ments, Mulvaney wants to
emphasize information and
education while predatory
lenders pick the pockets of
unsuspecting consumers.
“The CFPB is supposed to
create a level playing field
for consumers,” said Joanna
Pearl, a former enforcement
attorney in a recent article by
Reuters. “I’m not sure Mul-
vaney sees it like that.”
Some members of Congress
are even joining Mulvaney
in trying to turn CFPB into a
toothless tiger.
On March 22, South Caroli-
na Senator Lindsay Graham
introduced a resolution that
would deny consumers the
protections in CFPB’s payday
rule that has yet to take ef-
fect. Graham’s actions follow
a similar resolution offered
in the House of Representa-
tives. Should both chambers
vote down the payday rule
on a simple majority vote,
300 percent interest lenders
would emerge as winners and
consumers as losers.
“The consumer bureau’s
rule would help free people
from this suffocating debt
trap, and its efforts are sup-
ported by people across this
country including veterans’
groups, faith leaders, civil
rights organizations, consum-
er advocates, and many more,”
said Scott Astrada, the Center
for Responsible Lending’s
federal advocacy director.
Read the rest of this commentary at
TheSkanner.com
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