[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                             BIPARTISANSHIP

  (Mr. HALL of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HALL of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that, on 
occasion, we do work in a bipartisan fashion and that the President 
works with members of both parties.
  In fact, I was a cosponsor of a bill that took effect as law 
yesterday--the Credit Card Bill of Rights, as it is commonly called. 
There was an accountability act, which was originally sponsored by 
Congresswoman Maloney of New York. It passed this House by 357 ``aye'' 
votes, if I remember correctly, and it passed the Senate with 90 
``aye'' votes. That's a pretty strong statement of bipartisanship to 
protect the American consumer from the same banks, the same financial 
institutions that were bailed out by the taxpayers, which then turned 
around and jacked up interest rates for people with credit cards, 
interest rates as high as 29.9 percent.
  I know. I was one of those people who got a notice. I read the fine 
print, and I said, I pay on time. I've paid more than the minimum 
payment. How can this be done especially when money/credit is so cheap 
from the Fed?
  So I am proud of the fact that we worked to keep children from being 
exploited and students from being sent credit card offers, that we 
worked to protect families against these unexplained increases in 
interest rates, and that we worked together across the aisle.

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