WASHINGTON, DC. -- As Congress begins its final drive toward adjournment, a long list of consumer initiatives is still awaiting final action by lawmakers.

Congress has yet to pass pending bills to help consumers protect their financial privacy, avoid the trap of predatory loans, or a host of other legislation aimed at assisting working families with money matters.

According to a coalition of public interest groups, the failure to pass these pro-consumer initiatives over the last 20 months of the 106th Congress stands in stark contrast to the time spent on laws that benefit the financial industry.

Financial services modernization and "e-sign" laws passed Congress earlier this session. Before adjourning, congressional leaders hope to finish legislation dealing with disaster insurance, sterile reserves, and other industry concerns. Despite months devoted to a bill to restrict consumers' access to the bankruptcy system, that bill is now considered dead for the year. However, it is still possible that the bill could be revived and brought up for a vote before the session's end.

Representatives of the public interest groups today held a Capitol Hill briefing for reporters and congressional staff to call on Congress to pass pro-consumer bills before heading home for the fall elections.

Frank Torres, Legislative Counsel for Consumers Union, said, "Consumer bills have been gathering dust waiting for a final vote by Congress. Meanwhile, the financial industry has seen most of its major bills passed and signed into law. Congress still has time to approve at least some of the bills to help consumers with things like privacy, shoddy loans, rising bank fees, and abusive credit card practices. But the window of opportunity is about to slam shut."

Jean Ann Fox, Director of Consumer Protection for Consumer Federation of America, said one of Congress' top priorities should be a bill to restrain "payday lending," the short-term, high-interest cash advances against borrowers' paychecks provided by storefront lenders. "We are still waiting for Congress to pass legislation to protect consumers from legalized loan sharking and the use of federally insured bank charters to evade state laws," said Fox. "Families who can least afford triple-digit interest loans are trapped in debt by payday lenders holding their personal checks as leverage."

Travis Plunkett, Legislative Director of the Consumer Federation America said, "Lobbyists for the financial services industry have added insult to injury by slowing the progress of important consumer legislation, while loading up the bankruptcy bill with one anti-consumer provision after another. Fortunately, many members of Congress have taken a second look at this one-sided bill and have realized that it will harm responsible, working families that have suffered genuine financial misfortune."

Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said that in light of the enormous gains made by the financial industry under the Financial Services Modernization Act, Congress should give American families some relief from skyrocketing bank fees. "It is unfortunate that while Congress deregulated the financial industry, it couldn't ban unfair ATM fees or require banks to offer affordable accounts," he said.

Margot Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center said that the problem of predatory loans aimed at the elderly, lower-income neighborhoods, and minority communities has reached an intolerable level, and congressional action is long overdue.

Chris Morton, Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, agreed that legislation to curb predatory lending is critical. "The mortgage market for minority and low- and moderate-income communities is saturated with predatory lenders," he said. "For the victims of predatory loans, the American dream of homeownership becomes a terrifying nightmare. There is simply no place for these lenders and their unscrupulous and usurious practices in our financial system."

ACORN President Maude Hird pointed out the disparity between attention paid to consumer legislation and the time spent on industry-backed bills. "Congress has thrown a party for the financial industry in the penthouse suite while leaving lower-income families out in the cold," said Hird. "Too many of our neighborhoods are still starved for good loans, but Congress hasn't moved forward on much-needed legislation to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act. Families are losing their homes because of abusive loans, but the Senate Banking Committee won't even hold a hearing on anti-predatory lending legislation, and the House has prevented the legislation from moving forward ."

For more information, contact Consumers Union at (202) 462-6262; Consumer Federation of America at (202) 387-6121;National Community Reinvestment Coalition at (202) 628-8866, National Consumer Law Center at (202) 861-0534; U.S. Public Interest Research Group at (202) 546-9707, or ACORN at (202) 547-2500.