On the recordMarch 2, 2005
Today 144 million Americans have credit cards and they are charging more debt than they have in the past. Let me give one example of that. Credit card debt between 2001 and 2002 increased 8½ percent. Between 1997 and 2002, it increased 36 percent, and between 1992 and 2002, it increased by 173 percent. Forty to 50 percent of all credit card holders make only the minimum payment. I am a supporter of the bankruptcy bill, but here is the rub: Individuals get six, seven, or eight different credit cards, pay only the minimum payment required, and then end up with debt rolling over their shoulders like a tsunami. That happens in case after case. So that is the predicate for this amendment. It is like Senator Akaka's amendment, but it is less onerous than the amendment of Senator Akaka.
Source
govinfo.gov
