106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 312
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Fed-
eral Government and the States should engage in
greater oversight of title loan and title pawn
transactions, work cooperatively to address the
problem of abuses in title loan and title pawn
transactions through effective legislation at both
the Federal and State level, as necessary, and en-
sure that any Federal legislative effort preserves
the ability of the States to enact stronger protec-
tions for consumers with respect to such trans-
actions.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 312
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas title loan lenders make title loans and title pawns
to consumers by attaining the consumer’s automobile title
as collateral;
Whereas these loans and pawns are often offered at unscru-
pulously high rates of interest;
Whereas in many cases borrowers are forced to pay interest
rates of up to 300 percent per year;
•HCON 312 EH
Whereas many of these borrowers are unaware of applicable
rates and are forced into deeper and deeper debt to pay
the initial lien;
Whereas this industry takes advantage of uneducated and
poor consumers through usurious and exploitive lending
practices;
Whereas title loans and title pawns threaten the ability of
consumers to hold a job since default on the loan or
pawn will result in repossession and sale of their car,
which is often their only means of transportation to and
from work;
Whereas this industry is expanding rapidly throughout the
United States;
Whereas both the Federal Government and States have tradi-
tionally acted within their respective jurisdictions to pro-
tect citizens from usurious lending and abusive credit
practices;
Whereas the spread of abusive lending practices, including
those often characteristic of title loan and title pawn
transactions, have recently resulted in heightened Federal
interest, at the congressional, executive, and regulatory
levels, in curbing predatory lending practices;
Whereas, as the result of extensive field hearings, a task
force established by the Secretary of the Treasury and
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has
just underscored the need for Federal legislation to curb
predatory lending;
Whereas the title loan and title pawn transaction problem is
particularly acute in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New
•HCON 312 EH
Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah; and
Whereas this problem has the potential to spread to other
States that currently do not closely regulate the title loan
and title pawn industry: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the
Federal Government and the States should—
(1) engage in greater oversight of title loan and
title pawn transactions;
(2) work cooperatively to address the problem
of abuses in title loan and title pawn transactions
through effective legislation at both the Federal and
State level, as necessary, including by prohibiting
title pawn transactions and prohibiting usurious in-
terest rates in title loan transactions; and
(3) ensure that any Federal legislative effort
preserves the ability of the States to enact stronger
protections for consumers with respect to such
transactions.
Passed the House of Representatives June 27, 2000.
Attest:
Clerk.