McConnell Gets His Payback from the Debt Industry

[Judi Lynn]

McConnell Gets His Payback from the Debt Industry

By Anya Kamenetz and David Donnelly, Courier-Journal.
Posted March 2, 2007.

GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was instrumental in the passage of a bankruptcy bill that made it tough for Americans to deal with their debts -- and now the banking and credit card industry is rewarding him handsomely.

Tonight, President George W. Bush will speak at Louisville's Seelbach Hilton at a $2,000-a-plate fundraiser for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to pay him back for his support for the White House's policies.

The event comes roughly on the second anniversary of the day the U.S. Senate passed a sweeping bankruptcy law overhaul, the Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCA). Despite widespread criticism from both consumer organizations and conservative talk show hosts, Sen. McConnell, then Senate Majority Whip, provided the legislative muscle to push through that bill. It was one of the President's priorities.

But the bankruptcy law has made it harder for Americans to get out of debt. It imposes credit counseling requirements and a means test designed to push more people into Chapter 13 bankruptcy, denying them the right to fully discharge debts.

Moreover, the bankruptcy bill is one of the most egregious examples of pay-to-play politics in recent memory. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the credit card and commercial banking industries have given $224 million to federal candidates and political parties since 1989, contributing 62 percent percent to Republicans and 38 percent percent to Democrats. The industry greased the skids for over a decade to be able to write preferential legislation into law.
(snip/...)

http://www.alternet.org/story/48713/

[AndyA]

1. Shouldn't that be the

Bankruptcy Protection and Consumer Abuse Act?

I heard - surprise, surprise, surprise - that guess what? Most of the people who file for bankruptcy REALLY are bankrupt, and this toilet paper bill isn't helping the financial giants much, if at all!

HA HA!

I hope the bastards choke on their $2,000 dinners. Hey, maybe if they all got food poisoning they would undo all the FDA legislation they've pushed through, which has resulted in more issues recently.

[tkmorris]

2. You "heard" that?

I'd like to hear it too. Do you have a link to any hard information?

[ClintonTyree]

3. I'd like to read that myself......

from what I've heard it's putting more and more people into indentured servitude for their lifetimes to the credit card companies. I've heard nothing positive for the consumer come out of this bought and paid for legislation. :shrug:

Hey, I could be wrong. It surely wouldn't be the first time.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Same here. The credit card companies fought like demons to get that legislation. n/t