U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz of Hawaii are among 33 senators who have signed a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in support of stronger rules governing payday lending.

The letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray urges the agency’s adoption of “the strongest possible rules to end the damaging effects of predatory lending.” Senators in particular called attention to proposed rules that would force lenders to make consumers’ ability to repay a primary consideration in loan decisions.

“Ability-to-repay is a fundamental element of responsible lending; however, predatory lenders, particularly those with direct access to a consumer’s checking account, have not prioritized this standard,” said the letter, in part. “Lending in the absence of an effective ability-to-repay determination, and monitoring of how loans perform in practice, causes substantial harm to consumers.”

Schatz and Hirono’s advocacy has a special resonance in Hawaii, where a promising effort to rein in the state’s payday lending industry by significantly reducing an annual percentage rate cap of up to 459 percent fell apart in the waning days of the spring legislative session, disappointing advocates for reform.

Joining Schatz and Hirono in supporting federal reform were such lawmakers as Elizabeth Warren, who championed creation of the CFPB, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and Charles Schumer, the likely successor to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Read the letter in full here: