Other Household Debt

We believe that opportunity should not come with a lifetime of debt. We are fighting to hold private companies accountable, demanding justice for families, and rewriting the rules that shape how private credit is extended, serviced, collected, and reported across the economy.

It’s time to deliver a truly public, debt-free system and accountability for those who profit off the status quo, deny opportunity, and push borrowers further into debt.

Every year, tens of millions of Americans leave their jobs. But for many of them, this can come with a surprise: a bill. That’s because more employers are relying on “stay-or-pay” contracts to trap workers, requiring them to pay a penalty if they leave a job. If left unchecked, stay-or-pay contracts have the potential to leave workers buried in debt just for taking a better opportunity or for having to quit a job to navigate personal hardship.

Working families’ last defense against debt traps is often the federal agencies responsible for holding corporations accountable and enforcing the rules that govern our economy. Protect Borrowers will continue to expose public corruption and aggressively pursue the officials responsible for looting the federal government to the benefit of billionaires and the biggest corporations.

We are dedicated to ensuring that marginalized communities are protected from mistreatment by the loan industry. We have investigated and reported on predatory actors who attempt to take advantage of underserved communities. Through innovative advocacy and the novel application of legal tools, Protect Borrowers is working to address discrimination in the market and demonstrate how protecting borrowers is critical to advancing racial equity and economic justice.

We support state and local efforts to ensure we have a safe and well-regulated economy that works for everyone across the country by helping legislatures enact new laws, providing technical assistance as agencies implement and enforce these laws, and training local offices to provide services to their communities.