Amendment to H.R. 8800
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 passed the House Armed Services Committee with report language that AFSA advocated and strongly supports. This report language instructs the Pentagon to examine the Military Lending Act regulations (something they are required to do by statute but have not for several years), including examination of the potential harm that the 2015 expanded regulations have caused members of the military.
The amendment is #6395, included in a large bloc of amendments that passed by voice vote (unanimously without a roll call). The full text of the amendment is below. Because this is report language not actual legislation, this cannot be removed by the Senate or conferenced so it should remain in the final NDAA once it passes both chambers (likely late this year in November or December). NDAA is something Congress must pass each year.
AFSA is excited about this development and, and we look forward to the Pentagon’s examination of the regulations.
Amendment to H.R. 8800
Offered by: Mr. Harrigan
In the appropriate place in the report to accompany H.R. 8800, insert the following new Directive Report Language:
Updating Military Lending Act Regulations
The committee believes that regulations implementing the Military Lending Act (MLA) should be periodically updated in order to keep pace with the evolving financial services industry and the changing needs of servicemembers and their families. The need to update the regulations at least every two years was recognized by the Department of Defense in 2015 when it issued regulations to implement the 2013 amendments to the MLA. The committee is further concerned by increasing judicial scrutiny of Federal regulations that may exceed the provisions of law.
The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than March 30, 2027, on an evaluation of the effects of the 2015 MLA regulations and their relevance to today’s financial services landscape and the demands and preferences of military consumers. The briefing should include the following:
- whether the 2015 regulations limited the availability of safe and affordable credit for servicemembers and their families, including installment loans available in the civilian marketplace;
- whether the 2015 regulations had the practical effect of forcing servicemembers to seek alternative and less safe credit products; and
- whether the 2015 regulations unnecessarily restricted the ability of servicemembers to refinance auto loans to a lower rate.
June 11th, 2026
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