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Mike Castle Continues to Show His Loyalty to the Banking Industry by Voting Against Consumer Credit Protection
September 26, 2008 · Wilmington, DE · Democratic Candidate for Congress Karen Hartley-Nagle says that Democratic Candidate for Congress Karen Hartley-Nagle says that Mike Castle continued to prove that he is more a friend to the Banking Industry than his Delaware constituents and American consumers when he attempted to kill by amendment and then vote against H.R. 5244, also known as the 'Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights'. The legislation, sponsored by Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY, 14) is designed to protect consumers from unfair practices from the credit card industry. The legislation would protect consumers by:
- Ending the unfair and arbitrary interest rate increases by credit card lenders. Currently, lenders can increase interest rates without notice and for the slightest late payment. Under the legislation, lenders can only increase rates on balances that are more than 30 days late.
- Ending penalties on cardholders that pay on time.
- Protecting consumers from gimmicks with due dates by requiring companies to mail bills 25 days, instead of 14 days, before the due date.
- Ending the practice of applying payments to lower interest debt first.
"Mike Castle not only voted against this legislation, he submitted an amendment intended to kill the bill," said Karen Hartley-Nagle, Democratic candidate for Congress. "His statement on the floor of the House of Representatives tells us who he represents. He said: 'Should this bill be signed into law without an appropriate effort to evaluate the impacts, Congress will have been an accomplice to the reduction in credit.' I find this interesting because, as one of the chief deregulators of the Finance Industry, Mike Castle showed very little concern for consumers as Wall Street engaged in casino capitalism and brought us to the doorstep of an economic depression. Mike Castle is not speaking for consumers, he is speaking for the more than $49,000.00 in campaign contributions he has received from credit card lenders in the last year," Hartley-Nagle continued.
Hartley-Nagle also said, "Representative Maloney had an interesting comment about Mike Castle's desire to kill this bill by amendment. She said: "We are being called upon to help Wall Street. We should also help Main Street and I would urge my colleagues to understand that his bill has been supported not only by 155 of their colleagues but over 52 major publications across the country in editorials or op-eds, every single consumer organization in this country, and three of the regulators, including the Federal Reserve."
Mike Castle went on to vote against the bill, which passed with a veto proof majority. He risked nothing by voting for this legislation and has decided to stand for his largest group of campaign contributors instead of the people of Delaware. The credit card companies have held consumers hostage for too long with tricky rules and gimmicks in fine print. Mike Castle's actions around this legislation are another reason that Delawareans will vote for a change in Congress in just a few weeks."
Karen Hartley-Nagle won the Democratic nomination for Delaware's only seat in Congress in the September 9th Primary Election with 55% of the vote in a three candidate race which produced a record turnout for a primary election.
Contact:
Karen Hartley-Nagle
Democratic Candidate for Congress
(302) 465-1365
