[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration of the bill (H.R. 627) to 
     amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and 
     transparent practices relating to the extension of credit 
     under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Chair, I am proud to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 627, the 
Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act.
  In this economic crisis, far too many families have been forced to 
rely on short-term, high-interest credit card debt to pay for food, 
housing and other basic necessities.
  In Northern Michigan, unemployment is at record highs. This has led 
many families to fall behind on their payments and fall victim to 
predatory practices of many credit card companies.
  This legislation includes several provisions that would protect 
consumers from these abusive practices.
  The bill would protect cardholders from arbitrary interest rate 
increases, ban collection of interest on amounts already paid, and 
would also set specific definitions for ``prime rate,'' ``fixed rate'' 
and other terms to prevent deceptive use of these terms.
  For too long, the credit card industry has preyed upon consumers 
through omission of honest billing practices, and through loopholes in 
credit regulation.
  I, alongside my colleagues Mr. Price, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Moran among 
others, have offered an amendment that requires credit card companies 
to honestly report a customer's balance on their monthly credit card 
statement.
  This includes reporting the monthly payment amount and total cost to 
the consumer for them to eliminate their outstanding balance in 12, 24 
and 36 months.
  I urge my colleagues to support our amendment and to support the 
underlying bill.

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