OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5244, Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008

Date: Sept. 23, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Business and Consumers Minors and Children Finance and Banking


PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5244, CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 23, 2008)

Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, this credit card bill is extremely important, and I would like to just express appreciation to my colleague for having the vision to bring it forth.

People all over the country, the majority of the people around this country, are concerned about what is happening to them with regard to credit cards. I think that this is a week in which we need to all be concerned about what the consumers are feeling. In particular, I'm interested in the fact that we were not, at least in terms of statute, prohibiting what could happen to underage consumers.

In our committee, I produced a letter received by a 15-year-old boy offering him a credit card. The father of that boy works here on the Hill and brought the letter to the committee.

This bill, if approved, would provide that no credit card may be knowingly issued to or open-end credit plan established on behalf of a consumer who has not attained the age of 18 unless the consumer is emancipated under applicable State law.

Mr. Speaker, we have, in this country, right now over a billion credit cards. We have young people going to college receiving credit cards. We had testimony before our committee that in colleges, the administration will quite often allow credit card companies to come in on enrollment day. They offer the students a sandwich at one of the local fast food restaurants in exchange for them applying for a credit card. This has got to stop.

China has almost a 22 percent savings rate. The United States is negative .6. We are training our kids to go off to college where that is becoming increasingly expensive and then go out and get a credit card without having any source of income.

This has to stop, and I would like to commend my colleague for introducing this legislation and for doing things that I think the public expects us to do as elected officials.


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