From the E-Desk Of Peter Welch

Another canned response from Washington DC. I do have to say that I am quite thrilled that Bernie Sanders  will be at the 6:50 showing of Capitlism: A Love Story tomorrow night. I wonder what he will have to say about all of the looting that is taking place by corporate America with full cooperation from the US government. 

September 30, 2009

Dear Ms. Hanson,

Thank you for contacting me about the fair treatment of credit card holders by major banks and credit card companies and for sharing your story with me.  I am working hard in Congress to protect consumers and small business owners against the abusive practices of credit card companies.

I cosponsored and voted for H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009, which passed the House of Representatives on April 30, 2009 and was signed into law on May 22, 2009.  This new law will regulate interest rate increases and require transparency in credit card rules in order to protect consumers from gimmicks and exploitation.

I offered two amendments to H.R. 627.  The first amendment would have established a cap on credit card interest rates of 18 percent.  I have heard from many Vermonters about the arbitrary and unfair practice of hiking interest rates as high as 35 or 40 percent due to just one missed payment.  My second amendment, which was supported by a bipartisan coalition, tackled the growing problem of "merchant interchange fees."  Banks and credit card companies collect interchange fees from small businesses every time a customer uses a credit card to pay the bill.  These fees continue to go up, leaving merchants no choice but to pass them on to consumers.  In addition, small businesses are charged a higher fee if a customer uses a rewards card thereby forcing the merchant to pay for the customer's rewards rather than the credit card company.  My amendment would have ensured transparency in the interchange fee system, eliminated many of the current unfair practices, and empowered the Federal Trade Commission to scrutinize interchange fees.

The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights is an important step in the right direction.  But Congress cannot stop there in its effort to protect credit card customers.  Although my amendments were not included in the final version of the bill, I intend to continue my effort to have them enacted into law to provide further protections for consumers and small businesses.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please stay in touch and I hope to see you in Vermont soon.

Sincerely,

PETER WELCH

Member of Congress

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To respond to this letter, please visit my website: www.welch.house.gov.  Replies to this email address will not be received.