1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I vehemently oppose the newly proposed rule from the CFPB that would weaken hard-fought fair lending protections for women and limit affordable credit opportunities for underserved communities—namely communities of color and rural residents. This proposed rule change is unconscionable and it must never come into effect. Instead of responding to the desires of voters to create more affordability, the Trump administration is once again making it costlier for everyday people to afford and access the American Dream.  The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the CFPB would eviscerate longstanding fair lending and consumer protections in three dangerous ways. 1. The proposed rule would eliminate the ban that the ECOA has on lending practices that disproportionally harm people based on their immutable characteristics and identity, such as gender, race, color, national origin, age, marital status, religion, or because the applicant receives public assistance. This provision reverses the core principle of ECOA which was passed to ensure that women could fairly obtain credit in their own name without their husband or male relative co-signing a loan.  2. The proposed rule would give banks the green light to engage in redlining practices that deny Black, Latino, and other disadvantaged communities fair access to safe and non-predatory mortgages. 3. The proposed rule would stop lenders from establishing Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCP). These programs are critical to making the American Dream of homeownership accessible to all people. It is vital to the freedom and financial determination of our nation’s citizens that this proposed rule is NOT enacted. If enacted, this rule would end protection from discrimination, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age. I have attempted to leave a comment on Regulations.gov but continue to receive an error saying that “the feature you are attempting to access is currently unavailable,” even though there is still a day left to leave a comment. I want to make sure that my elected officials know how I feel about this proposed change.