Originally published March 23 2005
40 members of the House of Representatives carry at least $10,000 in credit card debt
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new report on the financial health of the members of the House of Representatives shows that 40 members of the House carry more than $10,000 on their credit cards. Though many consumer groups are hoping that this will motivate the members of the House to vote against a bill that would make it more difficult to declare bankruptcy, Congressmen with high credit card balances are expected to vote similar to their unencumbered fellows.
More than 40 members of the House reported carrying at least $10,000 in credit-card or charge-card debt in 2003 and parts of 2004, according to a survey of financial disclosure reports conducted by The Hill.
The findings come as the House is poised to take up a bankruptcy-reform measure that would give banks and credit card companies expanded powers to seek repayment from debtors who file bankruptcy.
Opponents of the bill drew hope from the data, suggesting that lawmakers who nurse high-interest debt might be more likely to sympathize with indebted consumers.
One would hope that it would make them more sensitive to regular Americans earning far less money that are threatened by this bill," said Travis Plunkett, legislative director at the Consumer Federation of America, which has opposed the bill on the grounds that it favors credit-card companies at the expense of average consumers.
Yet the 43 members identified in the survey were as likely to have voted for the bankruptcy bill when it came to the House floor in 2003 as were members without credit-card or similar revolving accounts.
The lawmaker reporting the highest credit-card debt was Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who noted that in 2003 he had between $80,000 and $175,000 spread across seven credit cards.
New York Democrat Gary Ackerman was third in the survey, listing "various credit cards" with a total balance of $50,000 to $100,000.
Disclosure guidelines require that lawmakers list their assets and liabilities by checking boxes indicating a range of values for each account - for example, $15,000 to $50,000.
For members with multiple accounts, The Hill used the total of the lower number on each account to determine the member's rank in the survey.
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