Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4526127
label
House Speech Conference Report on S. 5 (Truth in Lending), May 22, 1968
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4526127
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
House Speech Conference Report on S. 5 (Truth in Lending), May 22, 1968
citationUrl
collections
Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
Speeches
subjects
Credit
Legislation
iiifBase
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
4526127
coverageEndDate
logicalDate
1968-05-31
month
5
year
1968
coverageStartDate
logicalDate
1968-05-01
month
5
year
1968
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
url
mediaId
4fd9f0db3a5a87e8
ocrText
The original documents are located in Box D24, folder "House Speech Conference Report
on S. 5 (Truth in Lending), May 22, 1968" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press
Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--
May 22, 1968
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, on the
Conference Report, S. 5, Truth-in-Lending.
Mr. Speaker, recently the American consumer has enjoyed many fine hours here
in the Congress and more particularly here in the House of Representatives. I feel
confident, however, that today marks the consumer's finest hour.
I am proud of the role that the Minority played throughout the committee
hearings, the floor debate and the long, arduous House-Senate conference sessions.
But it is not my purpose today to extol the virtues of the Minority's contributions
to the truth-in-lending bill, for throughout the years of debate on this legis-
lation, partisan divisions have rarely, if ever, occurred.
Although much of the controversy and most of the headlines have centered
around the conflict of periodic versus annual disclosure on open-end credit, in my
opinion, the contributions of House Members of both parties in adding many
entirely new features to the Senate-passed bill far outweigh the importance of the
final compromise on revolving credit. The House added and was able to retain in
conference strong, effective and equitable language on administrative enforcement,
credit advertising, loan-sharking, first mortgages, garnishment, as well as
provisions dealing with abuses primarily related to extensions of credit for home
improvements.
During the House floor debate on the truth-in-lending bill, the non-record
votes on revolving credit on the so-called $10 exemption were overwhelming in
support of the position taken by a majority of the Committee on Banking and Currency.
I have been advised that the House Conferees were united throughout the conference
sessions with the Senate on these two points, and I was delighted that the House
Conferees were equally united in support of retaining several amendments offered by
Republicans when the bill was debated here on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I became personally involved with the Republican loan-shark
amendment and I want to commend the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and
Currency, Mr. Patman, the Congresswoman from Missouri, Mrs. Sullivan, and the rank-
ing Minority Member, Mr. Widnall, for their success in coming back to the House with
a very effective title dealing with extortionate extensions of credit. In this
(more)
-2-
connection, the contributions of the House Republican Task Force on Crime, as well
as Congressmen Poff and McDade, cannot be exaggerated.
Recent testimony has indicated that loan-sharking is the second most
important source of revenue to organized crime. Annual revenue to organized crime
has been estimated to be at least $20 billion. By amending Title 18 of the
U.S. Code so as to define and make a federal offense the extortionate extension
and financing of credit, finally we are recognizing both the seriousness and the
vast extent of this criminal activity. Moreover, the language providing immunity
to witnesses will send tremors through the high councils of organized crime when
their highly paid legal counsels advise them of the direction taken by Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I consider the conference report on the Consumer Credit
Protection Act one of the most important achievements of the 90th Congress. The
vast protection it affords all citizens -- especially low-income families and
individuals -- should provide ample evidence that the Congress has and will
continue to act on its own initiative in matters involving human equity.
###
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--
May 22, 1968
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, on the
Conference Report, S. 5, Truth-in-Lending,
Mr. Speaker, recently the American consumer has enjoyed many fine hours here
in the Congress and more particularly here in the House of Representatives. I feel
confident, however, that today marks the consumer's finest hour.
I am proud of the role that the Minority played throughout the committee
hearings, the floor debate and the long, arduous House-Senate conference sessions.
But it is not my purpose today to extol the virtues of the Minority's contributions
to the truth-in-lending bill, for throughout the years of debate on this legis-
lation, partisan divisions have rarely, if ever, occurred.
Although much of the controversy and most of the headlines have centered
around the conflict of periodic versus annual disclosure on open-end credit, in my
opinion, the contributions of House Members of both parties in adding many
entirely new features to the Senate-passed bill far outweigh the importance of the
final compromise on revolving credit. The House added and was able to retain in
conference strong, effective and equitable language on administrative enforcement,
credit advertising, loan-sharking, first mortgages, garnishment, as well as
provisions dealing with abuses primarily related to extensions of credit for home
improvements.
During the House floor debate on the truth-in-lending bill, the non-record
votes on revolving credit on the so-called $10 exemption were overwhelming in
support of the position taken by a majority of the Committee on Banking and Currency.
I have been advised that the House Conferees were united throughout the conference
sessions with the Senate on these two points, and I was delighted that the House
Conferees were equally united in support of retaining several amendments offered by
Republicans when the bill was debated here on the floor of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I became personally involved with the Republican loan-shark
amendment and I want to commend the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and
Currency, Mr. Patman, the Congresswoman from Missouri, Mrs. Sullivan, and the rank-
ing Minority Member, Mr. Widnall, for their success in coming back to the House with
a very effective title dealing with extortionate extensions of credit. In this
(more)
-2-
connection, the contributions of the House Republican Task Force on Crime, as well
as Congressmen Poff and McDade, cannot be exaggerated.
Recent testimony has indicated that loan-sharking is the second most
important source of revenue to organized crime. Annual revenue to organized crime
has been estimated to be at least $20 billion. By amending Title 18 of the
U.S. Code so as to define and make a federal offense the extortionate extension
and financing of credit, finally we are recognizing both the seriousness and the
vast extent of this criminal activity. Moreover, the language providing immunity
to witnesses will send tremors through the high councils of organized crime when
their highly paid legal counsels advise them of the direction taken by Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I consider the conference report on the Consumer Credit
Protection Act one of the most important achievements of the 90th Congress. The
vast protection it affords all citizens -- especially low-income families and
individuals -- should provide ample evidence that the Congress has and will
continue to act on its own initiative in matters involving human equity.
###