Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik voted to pass the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act, bipartisan legislation to prohibit unethical and unfair debt collection practices targeted at servicemembers in the North Country and across the nation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported that servicemembers are subject to a variety of unfair debt collection practices, including contacting the servicemember’s chain of command and threating punishment through the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
“It’s unacceptable for debt collectors to target and harass our servicemembers and their families by threatening to contact their chain of command, reduce their rank, revoke their security clearance, or prosecute them,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “This bill will support our servicemembers at Fort Drum and across our region by ensuring they are no longer subject to these unethical and unfair debt collection practices. Our men and women in uniform should be honored and respected, not harassed and targeted because of their great service to our country. I proudly voted in favor of this legislation and applaud the House for coming together to pass it.”
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