Dear Representative of the People,





We are drowning. We are a nation in debt, held in debt by credit card companies who charge an exorbitant amount of interest, late fees and overlimit fees.





A charge of 29.99\% interest is and should be recognized as criminal. Many of us, who were initially lured into creating a credit card account by low interest offers, find ourselves paying interest which totals approximately one third of our balance because we sent our monthly payments late, often only a few days after the payment due date.





Here is an example to put the issue in perspective:





Twelve months ago, the balance on my credit card was $6,430.38. Within twelve months, I have made no charges on the card. I have paid $2,314.55 to the credit card company. My current balance is $6,670.78. In short, after paying the company over two thousand dollars, I now owe $240.00 more than I did a year ago.





We lend our incomes to banks who in turn pay us 0\% to 3\% interest on our savings accounts. None of us earn 29.99\% interest on our savings.





We propose that no lending institution should charge more than 19\% interest for credit card balances. Likewise, we seek an equitable limit on late fees and overlimit fees for credit card balances. We ask you to represent us in pushing through reform on this matter which affects us so direly.