Federal Government

National Creditors Bar Association membership provides members with access to valuable federal-level information. National Creditors Bar Association's advocacy initiative includes substantial outreach to federal lawmakers and regulators, monitoring and responding to relevant legislation and regulation and proactive development of legislative proposals.

H.R. 5082 - The Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018 - Introduced to Replace H.R. 4550

March 5, 2018

Representatives Alex Mooney (R-WV) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) introduced H.R. 5082 - the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018. This bill replaces bill H.R. 4550 - the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017.

The ABA continues its stalwart support of this legislation as H.R. 5082- Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018. Read the ABA's press release, ABA Supports H.R. 5082, the "Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018," here.

H.R. 1849 Update

November 6, 2017

National Creditors Bar Association members Marvin Dang and Nathan Willner were joined on the Hill last week by National Creditors Bar Association Executive Director Mark Dobosz, Associate Executive Director of the ABA's Government Affairs Office Larson Frisby, and Geof Gradler and Jonathan Paret with Roberts, Raheb, & Gradler, LLP. The group met with lawmakers and staff to gain support for H.R. 1849, "The Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act."

Pictured, left to right: Geof Gradler, Jonathan Paret, Marvin Dang, Larson Frisby, Nathan Willner and Mark Dobosz.

H.R. 2706 Among Bills Under Review at September 7 "Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime" Hearing

September 5, 2017

H.R. 1849 – “The Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017” will be part of the hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime” being held by the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Sub-Committee of the House Financial Services Committee.

The hearing will take place this Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

The witness list and other bills to be reviewed are as follows:

Witness List

Ms. Anne Fortney, Partner Emerita, Hudson Cook, LLP
Mr. Charles Tuggle, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, First Horizon National Corporation
Mr. Thomas Quaadman, Executive Vice President, Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness
Ms. Chi Chi Wu, Staff Attorney, National Consumer Law Center

Bills Under Review

H.R. 1849 (Rep. Trott), the “Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017”
H.R. 2359 (Rep. Loudermilk), the “FCRA Liability Harmonization Act”
H.R. 3312 (Rep. Luetkemeyer), the “Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017”
H.R. ____ (Rep. Royce), the “Facilitating Access to Credit Act”
H.R. ____ (Rep. Tenney), the “Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2017”
H.R. ____ (Rep. Hill), the “TRID Improvement Act of 2017”

Ms. Anne Fortney, Partner Emerita, Hudson Cook, LLP will be testifying on H.R. 1849. Ms. Fortney is very familiar with our bill and issue. As she described in an e-mail to NARCA Executive Director Mark Dobosz, “I am very familiar with the issues involved in HR 1849. I happened to deliver the FTC’s testimony in 1986 in support of the bill that eliminated the attorney exemption. (I was the director of what was then called the FTC’s credit practices division.) Some debt collectors were abusing the exemption by hiring a licensed attorney in whose name the collection activities took place, even though the attorney had no oversight or involvement in the activities of the debt collectors. No one at the FTC or working in support of the legislation thought that a court would adopt the Supreme Court’s interpretation in Heinz of the removal of the exemption. The exemption in H.R. 1849 is appropriately narrow. I am glad to be speaking on the bill in my testimony nest week.”

The hearing will be televised. You can view the telecast live at www.financialservices.house.gov/. Mark Dobosz, Executive Director, will also be posting commentary on Twitter live from the hearing.

NARCA Submits Formal Support for H.R. 2706

July 24, 2017

The National Creditors Bar Association recently submitted official support for H.R. 2706: Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2017 being sponsored by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 2706 is a bill placing limits on "Operation Choke Point," an initiative that uses broad enforcement tactics that could create unnecessary risks to consumers and the economy. Over the past few years, since "Operation Choke Point" began, a number of members in the National Creditors Bar Association were unilaterally impacted by their banks. The National Creditors Bar Association thanks Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer for his continued support and leadership in addressing the egregious actions related to "Operation Choke Point."

The House Financial Services Committee leadership team for the 115th Congress

Chairman: Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)
- Vice Chairman: Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina)
Republican Whip: French Hill (R-Arkansas)
Chairman of Subcommittee on Capital Markets: Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan)
- Vice Chairman: Randy Hultgren (R-Illinois)
Chairman of Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit: Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Missouri)
- Vice Chairman: Keith Rothfus (R-Pennsylvania)
Chairman of Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance: Sean Duffy (R-Wisconsin)
- Vice Chairman: Dennis Ross (R-Florida)
Chairman of Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade: Andy Barr (R-Kentucky)
- Vice Chairman: Roger Williams (R-Texas)
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance: Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico)
- Vice Chairman: Robert Pittenger (R-North Carolina)
Chairman of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations: Ann Wagner (R-Missouri)
- Vice Chairman: Scott Tipton (R-Colorado)