Politics
Obama Praises Payday Lender Rules, Vows Veto of Limitations
NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Embracing proposed new rules aimed at payday lenders, President Barack Obama on Thursday said working families need protections from heavy debt burdens and warned Republicans that he would veto attempts to unravel regulations that govern the financial industry.
Obama praised the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its proposal to set standards on a multibillion-dollar industry that has historically been regulated only at the state level.
“One of the main ways to make sure paychecks go farther is to make sure working families don’t get ripped off,” Obama told about 1,800 people at Lawson State Community College.
Obama’s remarks come on the same day the consumer agency was announcing the proposed payday lending rules in a hearing in Richmond, Virginia. Payday loans provide cash to borrowers who run out of money between paychecks. The short-term loans carry high interest rates.
The rule would require lenders to make sure that borrowers can afford to pay the money back.
“If somebody lends you money then we expect you to charge interest on that loan,” Obama said. “But if you’re making that profit by trapping hard-working Americans into a vicious cycle of debt, you’ve got to find a new business model. You’ve got to find a new way of doing business.”
Before his remarks, Obama met with community leaders working on lending protections and later praised bipartisan efforts to address potentially catastrophic debt loads on families.
“You have some very conservative folks here in Alabama who … are reading their Bible, they’re saying, ‘Well, that ain’t right,” Obama said.
Obama says the Republican budget, a version of which just passed the House of Representatives, would make it harder for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to do its job. The budget is a nonbinding measure that serves as a blueprint for ensuing legislation.
“If Republicans in Congress send me a bill to unravel Wall Street reform, I will veto it,” he said.
Obama also used his speech in Alabama for a broader attack on the Republican budget. He said Republicans aim to cut taxes for wealthy individuals.
“I don’t think our top economic priority should be helping a tiny number of Americans who are already doing extraordinarily well, and asking everybody else to foot the bill,” he said.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Bay Area
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org
***PRESS RELEASE***
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.
This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.
“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”
The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.
“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”
The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:
- $42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
- $318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
- $445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
- $6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
- $750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
- $2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence
In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.
“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”
In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.
Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.
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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
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