Helping Families Save Their Homes Act Of 2009 - Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I wanted to take a couple minutes to talk about an issue that will be on the Senate floor next week, and that is the outrageous way that the credit card industry is treating millions and millions of Americans. Last week, 2 weeks ago, I sent an e-mail out to my mailing list, which is about 135,000 people, and I said: Tell me how credit card companies are treating you. Within a few days, we had 1,000 responses, many from Vermont but, in fact, from all over the country.

Essentially, what people were saying, as they described the treatment they are receiving at the hands of these credit card companies: We are disgusted that at the same time we as taxpayers are bailing out Wall Street and these large financial institutions, at the same exact time as the big banks are receiving zero interest loans from the Fed, the response of the credit card companies and the banks is to double or triple the interest rates we are paying on our credit cards.

The stories that came in were heartbreaking, appalling, and they spoke to the greed and the callousness of many of these financial institutions. We put a couple dozen of these responses into a little booklet called ``Enough is Enough, How Credit Card Companies Are Abusing Americans, Letters from Vermont and the Nation.'' They are available on my Web site at sanders.senate.gov.

What I want to do for the moment is read some of the comments we received from Vermont and around the country and also invite any viewer who has a problem to correspond with us and we will read them right here in the Senate. I think it is time that some of my colleagues in the Senate understood what is going on in the real world.

Yes, I do understand that the financial interests have put $5 billion into lobbying and campaign contributions over the last 10 years. And, yes, I do understand that despite the fact that they have pushed this country, through their greed and recklessness, into a recession, they still have enormous power on Capitol Hill. But maybe it is time that we started listening to the American people rather than the lobbyists from the large banks.

I will read a few of the comments, excerpts from some of the responses we received from all over the country. This is from Donna from New Jersey:

I want to know why consumers are not protected in any way from these predatory lenders who were bailed out with my taxpayer dollars and then turn around and raise my interest rate from 7 percent to 27 percent because of ``difficult economic times'' for the credit industry. This is outrageous! I have not missed a payment and my credit rating is in the high 800's. How can they keep getting away with this?

Well, that is a good question. How can they keep getting away with this? And they continue to get away with it.

This is from James in Highgate Center, VT:

I once had Bank of America charge me 27.99 percent interest when I had only a $53 balance on one of their cards. I of course paid it in full, then closed out the card to avoid doing business with those crooks!

The next one is from Los Angeles, CA, from Jennifer:

I have personally had three separate credit cards raise the APR to 29.99 percent--when I have paid my bills on time (Citicard, Chase and [Bank of America]). Then just last billing cycle, another card I am in perfect standing with doubled my APR--no apparent reason (Chase).

Well, I think Jennifer raises a good question. What are we doing about it? How can companies get away with doubling or tripling the interest rates on people who have always paid their bills on time?

This is from Sheila in Wilder, VT:

I am tired of being the one who has to pay! The executives of these credit card companies mess up and the little people pay. The government messes up and the little people pay. Now my oldest child is going off to college and I can't even get financial help except for loans. Yes, more interest! So now I have to pay more interest on my credit cards. When will I get help?

Well, Sheila, I guess you will have to contribute a whole lot of money into the political system because apparently Congress is not listening to you.

Susan and John in Sea Cliff, NY:

Capital, Chase, and Bank of America all doubled and tripled their rates despite a lifelong perfect payment record, with no excuse (we phoned them) except that they could. This is nothing but breach of promise and a flat-out theft. A good reason for severe, retroactive rollbacks or simple seizure of banks. .....

Theft? Not bad.

Anne from Brattleboro, VT:

I live in a small town in Vermont. I feel that the credit card companies need to have a ceiling on interest rates and fees they are stealing from us. We pay for the bail out and we pay the interest increases. They must think we are stupid.

And on and on it goes. This is just a couple of dozen. We received 1,000. There are millions of people out there who are sick and tired of being ripped off.

What is the solution? I think the House has made some progress. I guess the Senate committee is making some progress. Ultimately, what we have to do is call a spade a spade and say that when you are charging people 25, 30 percent in interest rates, that is usury. That is outrageous. It should be illegal in America.

As many people know, for a number of years individual States had usury rates. They said loans could not be made out above whatever the rate may be, depending on the State. Then what happened in 1978, the Supreme Court made a decision in the Marquette case which basically said if a credit card company did business in a State without any usury rates, other States could not stop them from charging any interest rates whatsoever. That is, in fact, what has happened.

I have introduced legislation and will bring up an amendment when we debate the credit card issue. I hope we can get some support in the Senate to pass a national usury law. The rate we have decided upon is 15 percent, with some exceptions. The reason we chose that as the ceiling is that is exactly what credit unions have been existing under for 30 years. A lot of people don't know that. But a credit union cannot charge 25, 30 percent interest rates. It is illegal for them to do that by law. So I think if we have a regulatory ethic with credit unions that has been working quite well for the last 30 years--credit unions are not marching into Washington for bailouts--I think we can apply it to the private sector as well.

What we are proposing is a cap on interest rates of 15 percent; under exceptional circumstances, which is currently the case for credit unions, another 3 percent. That would be it.

I think that is sensible legislation. Whether we can get much support here and take on the banking interests, I don't know. But I think it is what the American people want. I certainly hope we can pass legislation like that.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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