While the official results from last week’s presidential election still need to be finalized, reports are starting to circulate about some of the plans and decisions that Joe Biden will be making, should he become the next president of the United States. Those reports are looking at the decisions that will be made — many of which will impact the accounts receivable management industry. A panel of experts from across the ARM industry shared their thoughts yesterday on a webinar aimed at identifying the different areas of the industry that a Biden administration may address.
How impactful those decisions may get to be will likely be determined by the run-off election in Georgia being held on January 5, which will decide the two individuals who will represent that state in the Senate. As of this morning, the Republicans control 48 seats in the Senate and are leading in two races that have not yet been called, in North Carolina and Alaska. Democrats also control 48 seats in the Senate and would need to win both elections in Georgia to eke out a tie in the Senate and make Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tiebreaker on any vote.
Should Republicans maintain control of the Senate, it could force the Biden administration to make different choices about whom they want to nominate, because the Senate will have to confirm those nominees.
Many expect the Biden administration to replace Kathleen Kraninger as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but whom that replacement will be will likely have to wait until the Senate races are all finalized. A list was floated recently with names of possible candidates to run the CFPB, but some of those names are likely to be non-starters if Republicans control the Senate.
Also hanging in the balance is the CFPB’s debt collection rule, which could be pulled back and re-written by a new director, should Kraninger be replaced, or be subject to the Congressional Review Act. But the panelists from yesterday’s webinar said using the CRA on the debt collection rule was unlikely.
