Orrin Hatch: “I will just take a minute. I understand this amendment is well intentioned. Think about it. We are talking about taking…”

“I will just take a minute. I understand this amendment is well intentioned. Think about it. We are talking about taking away the rights of people who have to go to work, people who have a driver's license, people who can enter into legal contracts. That is paternalism at its worst. According to a national survey by the Educational Resources Institute, a majority of students use credit cards responsibly and do not accumulate large amounts of credit card debt. The majority of students, 59 percent, typically pay off their monthly balances right away. Of the 41 percent who carry over their balances each month, 81 percent pay more than the minimum amount due. In addition, the overwhelming majority of students pay their own credit card bills. The 14 percent of students who do not pay their own bills receive assistance mostly from parents or spouses. The average monthly balances reported by students also appear to be manageable. Eighty-two percent of students with credit cards who know their balance report average balances of $1,000 or less, and 9 percent have average balances between $1,001 and $2,000. In addition, slightly more than half of student credit card users report combined limits of $3,000 or less. All of these factors indicate the majority of students use credit cards responsibly. A significant portion of students with credit cards use them to pay for education-related expenses.…”