[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6383-6384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY

  (Ms. TSONGAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, last week I met with a small business owner 
from Concord, Massachusetts,

[[Page 6384]]

who showed me several months of his credit card statements. Due to a 1-
day late payment after years of on-time payments, his credit card 
company increased his interest rate by 15 percent, informing him that 
because of the increase, he will pay off his balance in 2,820 years.
  Thanks to the Credit CARD Act, such abuses are now illegal but only 
after more than a decade of trying to move these bipartisan and 
commonsense reforms through Congress.
  In response to the law, credit card companies are already devising 
new ways to exploit their customers, trusting in Congress' inability to 
respond quickly.
  The Consumer Financial Protection Agency will give small business 
owners like my constituent an advocate that can respond to shady 
practices as they evolve. Groups like the AARP have endorsed the idea 
of a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency because it will be 
able to stand up for the little guy against the giants who have been 
able to set their own rules.

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