They call it the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. This legislation is as far away from protecting consumers as a snake oil salesman pitching an elixir to cure all your ills. This legislation should be called the Credit Card Company Enslavement Act of 2005.
It doesn’t help the American people. It was conceived by the credit card companies, for the credit card companies and packaged by their Republican surrogates for one reason and one reason only--- to entrap low and middle income Americans.
As always with this Republican majority, if you’re rich, not to worry. They’ve got your back covered. For every other American, you’re the payoff for special interests and corporate creed. Disguise legislation with a phony name and let them clean your clock over, and over, and over again.
Debt- and the pain and suffering associated with economic enslavement- has been a major concern throughout recorded history. The Bible speaks about debt, in the books of Exodus, Micah, Amos, Nehemiah, Romans, Kings, and Deuteronomy, among others.
That’s a lot of spiritual guidance. So what was it all about?
Economic Justice is what the Bible preached, knowing full well that debt bound a person tighter than any chain, enslaving hope as it extracted money. For thousands of years, spiritual leaders- including Pope John Paul- have preached a gospel of economic justice for people throughout the world. Instead, today we are expected to pander to corporate greed while we deny social responsibility. I will not do that.
The legislation before us is about grinding people into the dirt. It is not a fresh start, but false hope and an endless debt burden.
The Republican majority today would like us to condone stripping people of all their worldly possessions and then denying them the right to hope, to make a new life for themselves and their loved ones.
Here are some facts behind the fraud the Republican majority has in front of us.
90% of those filing for bankruptcy protection are doing so because of losing a job, a medical emergency, or the breakup of a family.
Half of the personal bankruptcies in America today are because of illness or unpaid medical bills. What are the President and Republican majority doing about health care? Nothing. Nada. Zippo.
They haven’t touched it in the last four years and they’ll pander to special interests over the next four years. After all, people without health care don’t go to those fancy republican fund raisers. They go to the emergency room when they can’t avoid illness any longer.
45 million Americans have no health care and no hope with this Administration. 1.6 million American households filed for bankruptcy last year--- That’s one measure of the President’s economic program he’s not talking about. The rich get richer and the poor get outed.
Divorced women are 300 percent more likely than a single or married woman to file for bankruptcy, because of the consequences of the divorce, from lower wages to the financial strain of raising children alone. So much for Republican talk of family values.
African American and Hispanic Americans are 500 percent more likely than white homeowners to end up in bankruptcy court because of discrimination in everything from mortgage costs, to hiring, to wages. It’s real and the Republican majority would like us all to look the other way.
More older Americans are filing for bankruptcy because they are being forced out of jobs, can’t find new ones that pay what they were earning, and they are victims of runaway health care costs. But wait, there’s more.
Credit card company greed is an equal opportunity scourge. This industry inundates students, the working poor and middle America with dozens of offers for more credit cards and more debt every week.
How many offers have you received in the mail or on the phone this week? Three, four, six? The marketing isn’t aggressive, it’s predatory.
They tempt you with offers that promise anything and everything. Pre-approved, pre-authorized, platinum, gold, silver….the truth is, credit cards aren’t made of plastic; they are fashioned out of lead and hung around your neck like a yoke.
Does this so-called consumer protection bill do ANYTHING to address predatory credit card marketing? Nothing. Nada. Zippo.
So, what exactly are the Republicans proposing?
Their bill allows millionaires to shelter their assets in bankruptcy, by protecting an unlimited amount of value in their residences.
What about child support? Well, the Republican have a deal for you.
This bill- their bill- would force women and children who are owed child support to fight credit card companies in court for money. Given the Republican knack for words, they’ll probably call this a social safety net. They’ll leave out that it’s a safety net to protect credit card companies.
The vast majority of Americans economically distressed enough to face bankruptcy do so only as a last resort, after the utilities have been shut off, prescriptions go unfilled, and they go without food. They’ve already lost everything, but that’s not enough for the Republican majority.
Republicans have written a means test into this legislation, and it is as mean a test as I’ve ever seen. If they have their way, many ordinary living expenses will not count in calculating debt payments. It is the equivalent of kicking someone when they are already down.
What we have before us today is legislation that itself is bankrupt. It’s devoid of economic or social justice. It’s without care, concern, or hope for the American people.
What’s not to like?
A vote for this legislation is a vote against the American people. This is the People’s House. It’s time we give it back to them. Vote no.
Thank you.
