[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11164]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT

  (Mrs. DAHLKEMPER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong 
support for H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights.
  As I've traveled across my district in western Pennsylvania, I've 
seen firsthand how abusive credit card practices can devastate families 
throughout this country, especially during this recession. The time has 
come to end the unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices by 
credit card companies. These include soaring fees, arbitrary interest 
rate hikes, due-date gimmicks, and the incomprehensible credit card 
contracts that all Americans are familiar with.
  The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights offers an important 
opportunity to protect consumers from these practices, and this 
legislation can't come soon enough. With consumer credit card debt 
approaching $1 trillion, we cannot wait any longer to hold credit card 
companies accountable and to give American cardholders more control 
over their credit limits. That's why I urge my colleagues to act today 
and join me in passing the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights.

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