New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act and the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 -- Continued

Floor Speech

NEW DIRECTION FOR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT AND THE RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY CONSERVATION TAX ACT OF 2007--Continued -- (Senate - April 03, 2008)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. SANDERS. I will be very happy to yield to the Senator from Illinois.

Mr. DURBIN. I direct my question through the Chair to the Senator and thank him for offering the amendment and say to the Senator from Vermont that over a year ago, while making a phone call to someone in a financial institution in New York on an unrelated issue, the person said to me: Watch out for subprime mortgages. It did not register with me, but I should have paid closer attention. A few months ago, while making a similar call to a financial institution in New York, the fellow said: Watch out for credit cards because people are shifting their debt now into credit card debt with the sky-high interest rates.

Many people listening may ask what is this about. This is supposed to be about housing. It is not about housing. It is about the credit vulnerability of America. Housing is the first canary in the cage the Senator shared, if he will allow me to use that analogy. Credit cards will quickly follow.

I say to the Senator from Vermont, when we debated bankruptcy reform on the floor of the Senate 3 or 4 years ago, the credit card industry was pushing that bill because they wanted credit card debt to survive bankruptcy so you could carry it to the grave. I put a provision in that bill that said on a monthly statement for a credit card asking for a minimum monthly payment, you have to disclose to the person holding the credit card how long it would take them to pay off the balance if they paid the minimum monthly payment. The credit card industry refused, saying it was technically impossible to calculate. Does anybody believe that?

I say to the Senator from Vermont, they had a feature on ``NOVA,'' which I think is an extraordinary program, about credit cards. They heralded this one man who is the guru of credit cards who dreamed up lowering the percentage of minimum monthly payments from 5 percent a month to 2 percent because he created an endless stream of debt. If you pay 2 percent, you will never catch up with yourself. You will pay debt forever.

So those who think this amendment of the Senator from Vermont is unrelated to our conversation about housing are wrong.

The last point I will make is, I thank the Senator from Vermont for mentioning payday loans. They rip off members of the military like no other entity in America, and they are a blight on America's credit horizon.

I thank the Senator for offering this amendment. My question is, Can I sign on as a cosponsor?

Mr. SANDERS. With pleasure. I thank the Senator from Illinois.

Mr. President, I will conclude because the Senator from Illinois made the point better than I can make it. Every Member of the Senate knows this is a huge issue. In their heart, every Senator knows there is something immoral, that there is something outrageous about hard-working people paying 25, 30 percent, especially at a time when the Fed is lowering interest rates.

I say to my colleagues, it is no great secret. The financial services industry is very powerful. We all know that. They make huge campaign contributions. They have a lot of power here. But I hope that on this amendment, we have the courage to stand up to them.

In concluding, I remind my colleagues that in 1991, when Senator D'Amato offered a similar amendment, there was overwhelming bipartisan support. The American people want us to act on this issue. As the Senator from Illinois indicated, this is directly related to the housing crisis, and I think it is time we move forward and put a cap on interest rates.

I yield the floor.

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