Pending and New Legislation

CARES ACT student loan relief

03/31/20

The CARES Act signed into law last week suspends payments and eliminates interest accrual for all federally-held student loans for six months, through September 30. These measures exclude private loans, privately-held FFEL loans and Perkins loans. The other five subsections of section 3513 mandate important additional relief. Under subsection (c) the six suspended payments (April to September) are treated as paid for purposes of “any loan forgiveness program or loan rehabilitation program” under HEA title IV.

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Summary of the McConnell Bailout Bill

03/23/20

The McConnell Bailout Bill (a/k/a HR 748 or the CARES Act), weighs in at just shy of 600 pages. I've taken the liberty of summarizing it in a powerpoint deck for teaching (syllabus be damned) and thought it might be helpful to make generally available. Here it is.

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COVID-19 Response: The Need for Speed

03/18/20

While Congress struggles to figure out the best way to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, it is very apparent that immediate relief measures are necessary, if only to buy time for a more comprehensive approach. Layoffs are already happening and with they continue, it will result in more economic disruption from diminished consumption.

1. Sending out checks isn't fast enough (and can't happen in two weeks)

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Consumer Bankruptcy, Done Correctly, To Help Struggling Americans

01/07/20

Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled her new plan to reform the consumer bankruptcy system. The plan is simple, yet elegant. It is based on actual data and research (including some of my own with Consumer Bankruptcy Project co-investigators Slipster Bob Lawless, former Slipster, now Congresswoman Katie Porter, and former Slipster Debb Thorne).

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Hope for helping the prospective payday loan customer

12/17/19
Short term (payday) loans and high interest consumer installment loans
continue to deplete low income households of micro dollars and their
communities of macro dollars. Although the CFPB seems intent on supporting
the depletions, a good number of states have provided some relief. 
Even in states without interest rate limitations
there are a couple of ideas that can help.

Chris Peterson and Nathalie Martin have provided legal support

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Trump Administration Declares Open Season on Consumers for Subprime Lenders

11/18/19
The Trump administration has just proposed a rule that declares open season on consumers for subprime lenders.
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The Rigged Game of Private Equity

11/15/19
The Stop Wall Street Looting Act introduced by Senator Warren has the private equity industry's hackles up.
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Private Equity’s Chicken Little Dance

11/14/19
The private equity industry is lashing out at Senator Warren’s Stop Wall Street Looting Act with some pretty outlandish claims that rise to Chicken Little level.
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Small Biz Reorg Act Sleeper Innovations

09/25/19

Two aspects of the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 intrigued me as I looked more closely at this important new twist on Chapter 11 for the other 99%.

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How Many New Small Business Chapter 11s?

09/14/19

The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 adds a new subchapter V to chapter 11 for small businesses. The new subchapter gives small businesses the option of choosing a more streamlined -- and hence cheaper and quicker -- procedure than they would find in a regular chapter 11. Perhaps most significantly, the absolute priority rule, which requires creditors to be paid in full before owners retain their interests, does not apply.

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