Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 379 and ask for its immediate consideration. Madam Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.…
Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 379 and ask for its immediate consideration.
Madam Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).
General Leave
I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 379.
Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, House Resolution 379 provides for consideration of H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act. On a regular basis, constituents of mine from Colorado contact me in disappointment with stories about actions taken by their credit card companies. Hardworking Americans who make payments on time, have good credit, and live within their means see their rates increase without notice and without cause.
In a time when many Americans are struggling to pay their mortgage, when health care costs are increasing and many are out of work, unfair credit card practices threaten many families. Americans deserve a fair shake. They deserve transparency and not smoke and mirrors. They deserve reliability and not chaos within their statements.
The bill brought to us today by Congressman Gutierrez and Congresswoman Maloney, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act, gives consumers a fair deal. Prior to 1990, credit cards had more or less standardized rates--around 20 percent--few fees, and they were generally offered to persons with high credit standards.
However, since 1990, card issuers have adopted risk-based pricing, and as a result of this new pricing structure, rates have increased and fees have increased dramatically. Today's credit cards feature a wide variety of interest rates that reflect a complex list of factors. The terms of most agreements have become so complicated, consumers don't know what they are getting into when they sign on to a credit card agreement. Most, if not all, agreements allow the issuer to change the interest rate or other terms of agreement at any time for any reason.
For example, there is something called ``universal default'' in most credit card agreements. Universal default allows the credit card company to change the rate or change the terms of the credit card agreement for something completely unrelated to the credit card. That's got to stop.
There are also practices which allow for credit card companies to apply payments to the lowest rate of interest, not the highest rate of interest, so that amounts continue to grow under the credit card agreements. There are things including double billing cycles so you think that you have paid off a substantial portion of the credit card but, in fact, you continue to get interest charged against the amount you already paid off.
These are excessive practices, and they must be changed.
Under H.R. 627, issuers can only raise interest rates for the reasons provided within the legislation as proposed.
Madam Speaker, the American people have spoken. Too many stories have been told, and I think everybody in this Chamber--and certainly in the many hearings that we had in Financial Services--all had individual stories about credit cards and excessive practices. Americans are tired of opening their monthly credit card bill and noticing that their interest rate has jumped from 8 percent to 15 percent for no reason. H.R. 627 establishes responsible regulation within an industry which has taken advantage of many vulnerable Americans.
Finally, I want to note the careful balance this bill takes. We have had over a half dozen hearings on this bill alone. It's the product of years of meetings and hearings and conversations and input from all interested parties and roughly 60,000 public comments. This bill provides the fairness Americans have asked for from their credit card companies.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the rule and the underlying bill.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
I appreciate my friend from Texas complaining about every issue facing America today, but the issue in front of Congress today deals with the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights. That is the purpose we are here for this morning, that is the purpose of the rule.
I would agree with my friend from Texas, as he discussed the Federal Reserve and the comment taking that it has made and the rules that it has promulgated, but for the actions taken by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Congressman Luis Gutierrez, there would have been no movement. That whole credit card effort by the Federal Reserve took years and years. It was stalled. And thank goodness action was taken by those two legislators in moving this forward.
This bill needs to move forward. People in America expect to be treated properly and fairly in their financial dealings, and that is the purpose of this legislation.
With that, I yield 2 minutes to my friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Kagen).
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).
Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my friend from Virginia (Mr. Moran).
I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Chicago, Illinois (Mr. Quigley).
Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney).
I would like to ask my friend from Texas, we have two more speakers, proceed with them and then close? I don't know how many speakers he may have.
I yield 1 minute to my friend from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).
I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Maffei).
I yield myself so much time as I may consume.
But before the gentleman leaves the Chamber, my friend from Illinois, I want him to know, Madam Speaker, that there are 17 amendments up for vote today. And among those is a vote involving the Federal Reserve and reports that Federal Reserve will give to this Congress as to the consequences of the actions that we take within this legislation.
Now, if his complaint is that it should be the GAO versus the Federal Reserve, maybe that's a legitimate complaint. I certainly don't think it is.
But we are allowing today 17 amendments to the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, and they cover a whole range of issues.
I yield 15 seconds to my friend from Chicago.
I thank the gentleman.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, I appreciated the debate on this particular rule, but it is time, this is not a time to just vote ``no.'' We like the status quo.
The people across this country are fed up with some of the practices that have existed with respect to credit cards. Whether it's universal default, all of a sudden your credit card rate is raised because you blinked wrong at a school crossing.
Under this, under universal default, you can have your credit card rate raised for any reason at any time. That's just not right.
Doubling billing cycle, you pay a portion of your bill, yet you are still charged interest on that portion the next go around. That's not right.
Credit cards are being extended to young people with tons of legalese that are incomprehensible to the greatest of the lawyers. That's not right.
It is time that the people of this country take control of their credit cards and the practices that have existed so that it isn't just a profit center for many of the credit card companies. The good credit card companies and the good banks really do respect the rights of their customers and their consumers.
But there are abusive practices that must be stopped, and it is H.R. 627 that will rein in some of these abusive practices.
At this point I would urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the previous question.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.