11-R210

2011 -- S 0750

Enacted 04/13/11

 

 

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

URGING ALL RHODE ISLAND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO VOLUNTARILY REDUCE THE INTEREST RATE CAP FOR SCRA-QUALIFIED MEMBERS SERVING IN THE MILITARY

     

     

     Introduced By: Senators Walaska, Felag, McCaffrey, Lynch, and Bates

     Date Introduced: March 23, 2011

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Military personnel are currently protected by the Service members Civil

Relief Act (SCRA), which prohibits foreclosures on active-duty military personnel and limits

interest rates on their pre-existing consumer debt; and

     WHEREAS, The SCRA was originally signed into law in 1918, as the Soldiers and

Sailors Civil Relief Act (SSCRA). Although the act has been amended numerous times since

being enacted, the interest rate cap of six percent that was designated to protect our troops and

their families during service to this country has not been revised in decades; and

     WHEREAS, In light of today’s struggling economy, an interest rate cap of 6 percent no

longer serves the purpose of protecting our troops’ financial obligations while they are on active

duty.  In point of fact, it is often financially detrimental to the very people it was intended to help;

now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby urges all Rhode Island financial institutions to voluntarily reduce the interest rate from 6

percent to 2 percent on loans for SCRA-qualified members actively serving in the military; and

be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the

Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association (RIMBA), the Rhode Island Bankers Association,

and the Rhode Island Credit Union League.

     

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LC02184

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