Political Quotes

“Mr. President, one of our important responsibilities in Congress is to protect American consumers. But allies of Big Business and Wall Street, who always fear threats to their bottom lines, have been working overtime to convince consumers that a bill that I have introduced with Senator Marshall, the Credit Card Competition Act, will do more harm than good. Their latest tactic, they are recruiting allies from the airline industry. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently said that our bill would ``kill rewards programs.'' Let me be very clear. This is false. Moreover, this past July, Forbes published an article saying that compared to other nations, airline rewards programs in the United States have made it more challenging to earn and redeem miles. Because while the airline industry is trying to argue that my bill would stifle competition and their loyalty programs, it is actually their own questionable practices that threaten American consumers' ability to redeem rewards. Let me explain. The airline industry knows how much consumers value rewards programs that over 100 million Americans participate in. These programs originated as a way to reward true frequent flyers for their loyalty and patronage. And, today, millions of Americans participate. But these programs have evolved to include cobranded credit cards that focus on dollars spent using those cards. The Presiding Officer and I spend a big part of our lives on airplanes.…”