Credit Card Companies And Rep. Judy Biggert (IL) Silence Their Victims

There is a law being proposed that would grant consumers some relief from abuse at the hands of credit card companies. Several victims of credit card abuse were supposed to testify before the Sub-Committee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit on Capitol Hill this week about the predatory practices of America's most prestigious lenders.

But they never got the chance.

That's because the committee's Republicans, led by Rep. Judy Biggert (IL) and the banks whose practices were about to be discussed on Capital Hill demanded that those testifying about their experiences sign a waiver that allowed their personal financial information be revealed to the public. The chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., didn't have the votes to stop the intimidation so the witnesses were silenced. But representatives of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Capital One were allowed to testify without signing away their privacy rights.

Anyone is free to contact Congresswoman Judy Biggert and ask her when the Republicans on her committee will go back to allowing debate in congress without intimidation by her partners in crime and the predatory lenders who pay their way.