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Press Release Wednesday, February 2, 2000 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate today voted 83-14 for a bill aimed
at changing the bankruptcy system, a measure that Consumers Union
says caters to credit card companies while it harms American families
in financial crisis.
"This is a one-sided bill that is unfairly slanted against
consumers who make honest efforts to repay their debts," said Frank
Torres, legislative counsel for Consumers Unions. "In bankruptcy
matters, both the creditor and the debtor should carry their fair
share of responsibility. Credit card companies ought to be held
accountable for their aggressive marketing and lending practices.
This bill just gives them a green light to keep pushing their cards
on people and leaving them in the dark about what they really
owe."
Torres said the Senate bill is a lost opportunity to tell
consumers the truth about how much their credit costs and provide
them the tools they need to plan for repaying their debts. Senators
discussed adding a simple provision to the bill to require credit
card companies to tell consumers how long it would take them to pay
off their balance at the minimum rate and what their total costs in
interest and principle would be.
"But lobbyists for the credit industry pressured members to drop
the provision and adopt a generic disclosure statement that is
largely meaningless and won't help consumers," said Torres.
Torres said the bill also fails to address the problem of
aggressive marketing and lending to young people. Under this bill,
companies can continue to target young people who have little or no
experience with credit cards.
"Lawmakers have got to fix the problems in this bill, or families
who are trying to climb out of bankruptcy will have few places to
turn," said Torres. "Like the financial services bill that Congress
passed last year, this is one more sweetheart deal for the
industry."
The House approved a similar bankruptcy bill last year. Lawmakers
will start working on a compromise version of the bill for Congress
to consider this year.
