Mr. SCHUMER. I thank the Senator for his usual graciousness. I commend my colleague from Connecticut for the outstanding job he has done on this issue. I regret that the consent to move to the legislation has been blocked.
The bottom line is this: We know there are real problems in the credit card industry. We know that things are happening you would never imagine would happen. People are moving interest rates--maybe you had your balance at $4,000, 7 percent, and you know your family budget, and then it goes up to $23,000. This legislation would have stopped that.
What the banks are doing now is jumping the gun and moving things ahead in a way that is very wrong. To move up the date would simply make sure this legislation affects more people than it would have. It is a good idea. I hope we will still reconsider it later. I hope the public, who cares about this, will let all Senators from both sides of the aisle know how important this is.
With that, I thank the Senator from Connecticut. He has been such a leader in fighting for consumers throughout this session. He deserves every American's thanks.
