SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
April, 23 2009, 10:55am EDT
Contact:
Naomi Seligman 202.408.5565
CREW Releases 'Payday Lenders Pay Up' - First Ever Study on the Payday Loan Industry's Efforts to Gain Influence in Washington
WASHINGTON
Today, in light of new legislative efforts and ever-growing
controversies over the role of payday lenders in Americans' lives,
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a
new study entitled, Payday Lenders Pay Up, which examines the payday loan industry's efforts to gain influence on Capitol Hill.
The first-of-its-kind study explores how the payday loan industry
has stepped up its lobbying and public relations efforts as well as its
campaign contributions to federal candidates in the face of greater
congressional scrutiny of industry practices. In 2006, Congress capped
the interest rate on short term loans to military members at 36%. In
the 110th Congress, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) dropped a bill to apply
the same cap across the board and he reintroduced that legislation
earlier this year.
CREW has examined those campaign donations, which demonstrate how an
industry with a previously low federal profile seeks to influence
members of Congress to achieve a particular policy outcome. CREW found
that the payday loan industry doubled its lobbying expenditures from
$2,045,000 in the 109th Congress to $4,182,550 in the 110th Congress
and doubled its campaign donations over the past three election cycles.
CREW also ranked the top 15 recipients of payday related campaign
contributions over the 2008 campaign cycle. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD),
chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, was the
leading recipient of payday contributions in the 2008 cycle, taking in
$47,400. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), chair of the House Subcommittee on
Financial Institutions - who has taken the lead on a payday reform bill
that has been criticized by consumer advocates, editorial writers, and
the payday industry - was the 11th leading recipient of payday loan
related donations, taking in $18,500 last cycle. Sen. Richard Shelby
(R-AL), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, was the
Republican who received the most from the industry, accepting $25,560,
ranking him 4th overall.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, "Payday Lenders Pay Up
shows the payday loan industry is following the familiar path already
cleared by other industries suddenly confronted with congressional
oversight. Payday lenders have joined the ranks of defense contractors,
investment funds and others who influence the legislative process
through lavish political contributions, expensive PR campaigns, and
strategic lobbying."
Read CREW's report in the Related Documents section on the right.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
LATEST NEWS
Massie Threatens to Go 'Nuclear' and Reveal Epstein Client Names If Bondi Won't Unredact Them
After getting the opportunity to view the unredacted files, Rep. Thomas Massie threatened to read the names on the House floor to secure justice for survivors.
Feb 09, 2026
With 3 million Jeffrey Epstein files still being withheld from the public and the names of many possible clients and co-conspirators still blacked out, Rep. Thomas Massie is threatening to invoke what he has called a "nuclear option" to force transparency from President Donald Trump's Department of Justice.
Massie (R-Ky.), who has pushed harder than any other Republican for the release of the files pertaining to the late sex criminal and his circle of powerful friends, will join Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to view unredacted versions of the DOJ files on Monday.
Under a law introduced by Massie and Khanna last year, which Congress passed almost unanimously, the DOJ was required to release all files to the public in December without redacting information solely to protect public figures from embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.
But millions still remain under lock and key, while those made public, including a tranche of more than 3 million released late last month, are heavily redacted.
Rep. Thomas Massie and I have requested a meeting with Todd Blanche to ask why the senders of these emails have been redacted. Concealing the reputations of these powerful men is a blatant violation of the Epstein Transparency Act we passed.
[image or embed]
— Ro Khanna (@rokhanna.bsky.social) February 5, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Those files contained many references to Trump as well as other powerful figures, including former President Bill Clinton, tech billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Gates, and former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson.
Meanwhile, files containing compromising mentions of Trump were uploaded to the site before being swiftly deleted—including a list of unverified FBI tips that described the president participating in the heinous abuse of children.
In a Sunday appearance on CNN‘s “Inside Politics,” Massie accused the Trump administration of violating the law by failing to meet the deadline for the public release of information and by releasing the names of victims while covering up the names of alleged perpetrators.
He said that of particular interest were the FBI’s 302 files, which contain information from official interviews with witnesses and victims of Epstein’s abuse, which he said the DOJ is still withholding.
He also said the DOJ was “overredacting” documents related to “some really sketchy emails” between Epstein and associates, on which “we can’t see who the sender was.”
Massie said that Attorney General Pam Bondi "will be in front of my committee," referring to the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday to answer questions about the release of the files.
He said he plans to ask her why the rest of the documents have not been released, why—even with the delays that purportedly gave officials time to ensure victims' identifying information was redacted—they still published the names of some victims, and what information has been redacted from the files.
Asked by anchor Manu Raju how he would respond if the DOJ continued to flout the law, Massie said he was prepared to begin reading off the names of Epstein's clients on the House floor, provided the victims "believe that the best way to get justice is to force the DOJ to release these names."
Massie also remarked on the revelation in the latest batch of files that Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, who'd claimed to have cut ties with Epstein back in 2005, had actually continued a business and personal relationship with him years after he'd been convicted of sex crimes in 2008. This included joint business ventures, dinner gatherings, and a planned trip to Epstein's infamous private island in 2012.
Asked whether Lutnick should testify before the Judiciary Committee, Massie instead said, "No, he should just resign."
He said that Mandelson and the former Prince Andrew, another prominent Epstein associate who was stripped of his royal title, have resigned in disgrace from their posts "for less than Lutnick lied about."
On Friday, amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and the public, the DOJ sent a letter to members of Congress—obtained by the Associated Press—informing them that they could inspect the documents.
Legislators were required to give the DOJ 24 hours' notice before arriving and will be required to view the documents in a tightly-controlled "reading room." They are also barred from creating electronic copies of the files for distribution, but they may take notes.
In a post to social media Sunday, Massie called on inquisitive followers to point out which concerning documents they want him to scrutinize, saying those that receive the most "likes" will be his first priority.
Among the documents that have garnered the most outrage and demands for transparency are:
- A 2014 email in which a person, whose name has been redacted, thanked Epstein "for a fun night" and told him "your littlest girl was a little naughty";
- Another 2014 email in which a person, whose name has been redacted, said they were giving Epstein "permission to kill" an unspecified person;
- A 2009 email in which a person, whose name has been redacted, told Epstein they "loved the torture video";
- And a heavily redacted federal prosecution memo, sent after Epstein's death in 2019 to then-US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, which discusses investigative steps and possible liability of Epstein's associates, and several uninvestigated claims relating to complicity and participation in his crimes. That file was deleted shortly after being uploaded to the DOJ website.
On the same day that lawmakers will review the DOJ's files, Epstein's convicted accomplice Ghislane Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for the sex-trafficking of minors, refused to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee about who else was involved in Epstein's abuse, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
As Khanna pointed out, she did not do this in July when she privately answered questions from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Khanna has sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) containing a list of questions for Maxwell about any knowledge she has of other co-conspirators, the extent of Epstein's and Trump's involvement, and whether Trump offered her a pardon in exchange for her silence.
"The American people will see that there's an inconsistency," Khanna told reporters on Monday. "Why didn't she plead the Fifth when Blanche asked her questions, but now she's pleading the Fifth about things that don't implicate her, but may implicate many of the other powerful people in the Epstein class that committed these crimes?"
Keep ReadingShow Less
Pushing for Regime Change, Trump Accused of 'Asphyxiating' Cuba With Fuel Embargo
"Bus stops are empty, and families are turning to wood and coal for cooking, living through near-constant power outages amid an economic crisis worsened by the Trump administration’s steps in recent weeks."
Feb 09, 2026
The Trump administration's decision to tighten the decadeslong US stranglehold on the Cuban economy by depriving the island nation of its largest source of oil has plunged the country into a rapidly worsening energy crisis, forcing its government to take far-reaching emergency steps to avert catastrophe—from curbing transportation services to shortening work and school hours.
"We are not going to collapse," Oscar Perez‑Oliva Fraga, Cuba's deputy prime minister, said in an address outlining the emergency measures late last week as White House officials—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a longtime Cuba hawk—pushed for the overthrow of the Cuban government by the end of the year.
The Wall Street Journal reported late last month that President Donald Trump's administration is "emboldened" by its kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and is now "searching for Cuban government insiders who can help cut a deal to push out" the government of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has expressed openness to talks with the US—but not under economic coercion.
"The Trump administration has assessed that Cuba’s economy is close to collapse and that the government has never been this fragile after losing a vital benefactor in Maduro," the Journal noted. "Officials don’t have a concrete plan to end the Communist government that has held power on the Caribbean island for almost seven decades, but they see Maduro’s capture and subsequent concessions from his allies left behind as a blueprint and a warning for Cuba."
Since its abduction of Maduro in early January, the Trump administration has vowed to bar any Venezuelan oil or money from reaching Cuba and threatened to slap tariffs on any country that sells oil to the Cuban government. Venezuela was previously Cuba's largest oil supplier, providing the island nation with roughly 70,000 barrels of crude oil and refined products last year.
In a January 29 executive order, Trump proclaimed—laughably—that Cuba "constitute[s] an unusual and extraordinary threat" to US national security.
The Trump administration's increasingly aggressive economic warfare has been disastrous for the Cuban people, who have always been the primary victims of the illegal and globally condemned US blockade.
"Bus stops are empty, and families are turning to wood and coal for cooking, living through near-constant power outages amid an economic crisis worsened by the Trump administration’s steps in recent weeks," Al Jazeera reported Sunday. "The government says it will prioritize available fuel for essential services—public health, food production, and defense—and push the installation of solar-based renewable energy sector and incentives therein. It will prioritise shifting energy to selected food production regions and accelerate the use of renewable energy sources, while cutting down on culture and sport activities and diverting resources towards the country’s early warning systems."
A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned last week that the UN chief is "extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet."
David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International, wrote Monday that "right now, Donald Trump is laying siege to the island of Cuba: asphyxiating its people, shuttering its hospitals, starving them of food."
"If you care about 'America', this is your fight," Adler added.
Over the weekend, the Mexican government announced that its Navy is sending more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba, including "essential food items" and "personal hygiene products."
"Through these actions, the government of Mexico reaffirms the humanistic principles and spirit of solidarity that guide it, and its commitment to international cooperation among peoples, especially with those who require humanitarian assistance in situations of emergency and vulnerability," the government said in a statement. "Cuba and Mexico are sister nations, heirs to a long history of solidarity that we honor today."
In a social media post during the National Football League Super Bowl in the US, Drop Site journalist Ryan Grim wrote that "there are obviously a lot of shameful moments in American history, but Mexico being forced to send militarily protected humanitarian relief to a Cuban population we are starving for no reason, while we all stuff our faces with chicken wings, has to rank among our low moments."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Leaked DHS Document: Tiny Fraction of Immigrants Detained Under Trump Have Violent Criminal Records
The DHS report shows only 14% of immigrants taken into custody by ICE in 2025 had either been charged with or convicted of violent criminal offenses.
Feb 09, 2026
A leaked document obtained by CBS News reveals that only a tiny fraction of immigrants detained by the Trump administration last year have violent criminal records.
According to CBS News, the internal US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document shows that just 14% of immigrants taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2025 had either been charged with or convicted of violent criminal offenses.
The DHS report also shows 40% of immigrants detained last year have no criminal record at all except for civil immigration law violations, such as living unlawfully in the US or overstaying a visa, which CBS News noted "are typically adjudicated by Justice Department immigration judges in civil—not criminal—proceedings."
The internal document undermines President Donald Trump's past claims that his administration is focused primarily on deporting "the worst of the worst" undocumented immigrants, such as those belonging to criminal gangs. In reality, the document shows, less than 2% of immigrants detained last year had any sort of gang affiliation.
As noted last month by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, ICE during Trump's second term has grown more aggressive in detaining people with no prior criminal offenses save for civil immigration law violations.
In January 2024, for example, immigrants with no prior criminal record accounted for just 6% of ICE detainees. By January 2025, that percentage surged to 43%.
ICE has drastically ramped up its arrests of immigrants in the last year, as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has demanded that the agency hit arrest quotas of at least 3,000 per day.
While ICE has not yet reached that goal, they did make an estimated 393,000 arrests during Trump's first year back in the White House, an average of more than 1,000 per day.
CBS News notes that the internal DHS document "does not include arrests by Border Patrol agents, who the Trump administration has deployed to places far away from the US-Mexico border, like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis," where they "have undertaken aggressive and sweeping arrest operations, targeting day laborers at Home Depot parking lots and stopping people, including US citizens, to question them about their immigration status."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular