President Joe Biden: “I’m about to sign into law three bills, which you all have written and passed, protecting our planet from climate disturbing greenhouse gas, particularly methane, which is devastating; protecting consumers from predatory lenders and protecting workers from employment discrimination. Each of these bills, each of these bills reflects a return to common sense and commitment to the common good. Back with President Obama in 2016 and I put in place a rule that required that companies capture methane leaks from the wells they were digging. Well, guess what? They didn’t. And so since then, we’ve learned that methane is even more dangerous to the climate than we knew back then in 2016, trapping much more heat, up to 80 times more heat, methane does and carbon than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. And look, this is an important first step of cutting methane pollution. Our bipartisan infrastructure plan will include 21 billion dollars in environmental remediation to capping millions of abandoned wells, leaking wells and oil and gas wells. And so be a good step forward. Some loan sharks and online lenders have figured out how to get around these limits and by using a partnership with a bank to avoid the state cap and charging outrageous interest. And I’m, you all have pointed out some as high as 100% interest, which is astounding. And I must admit to you, I didn’t know that I was unaware they could pull that off. These are so-called rent-a-bank schemes. They allow lenders to prey on veterans, seniors and other unsuspecting borrowers, tapping and trapping them into a cycle of debt. The last administration put in place a rule that makes it harder, makes it harder for those seeking redress for job discrimination to get justice with this law, we’re going to move in the direction of greater accountability, fairness and justice.”
Tags: Joe Biden