S. 2760: SAFE Lending Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-04-07 · Finance and Financial Sector · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1811-1812)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-04-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1811-1812) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

SAFE Lending Act of 2016

Plain summary

Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2016 or the SAFE Lending Act of 2016 This bill amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) to declare that a remotely created check may only be issued by a person specifically designated in writing by the consumer to the insured depository institution at which the consumer maintains the account from which the check is drawn. A remotely created check is a paper or electronic check that: is not created by the financial institution that holds the customer account from which the check is to be paid; and does not bear a signature applied, or purported to be applied, by the account holder. A consumer may revoke authorization for remotely created checks at any time. The bill prohibits issuance of any payment order in response to a consumer's exercise of federal consumer financial rights. Any voluntary electronic fund transfer to repay a small-dollar consumer credit transaction shall be treated as preauthorized under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The TILA is amended to require registration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by any small-dollar lender that facilitates, brokers, arranges, or gathers applications for small-dollar consumer credit (of up to $5,000, adjusted for inflation) extended pursuant to an open-end, non-open-end, or other CFPB-determined credit plan meeting specified criteria. Small-dollar consumer credit transactions must comply with state law where the consumer resides. The EFTA is amended to: declare unlawful overdraft fees charged on a general-use prepaid card; and authorize the CFPB to prohibit fees for declined transactions involving such a card. The TILA is further amended to prohibit a person from certain activities, including distributing sensitive personal financial information, in connection with a small-dollar consumer credit transaction, if that person ("lead generator") does not itself grant the credit directly to the consumer. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall study: (1) the availability of capital on Indian reservations, and (2) the impact on tribal economic opportunity and wealth of small-dollar consumer credit extensions to tribal members through Internet and non-Internet means.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

SAFE Lending Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · 13 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] reported raising $5.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2760.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s2760 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114