mr. speaker , let me just suggest the following , with all due respect to my friend from wisconsin and my friend from virginia . 
the figure of $ 400 is a mythical figure . 
it is inaccurate . 
in addition to that , be rest assured , if you are a consumer , you will not benefit one penny from this bill . 
do my colleagues know who is going to benefit ? 
the credit card industry . 
anyone familiar with the history of this bill knows that it was written by and for the credit card industry , and they spent north of $ 40 million to make sure that they got what they wanted . 
the american people are the losers here , unless you happen to be a senior executive of a credit card company or an investor in credit card companies , because they are going to make a good score here today , but the american taxpayer is going to pay for it . 
according to the cbo , the bill will cost taxpayers $ 392 million over a 5-year period and simultaneously reduce tax revenue by $ 456 million , increasing the budget deficit , by the way , that we are all so concerned about . 
the bill is nothing more than a public subsidy for one of the most profitable businesses in our economy . 
what is sad is that we could have produced legislation which would have been fair and balanced . 
we continue to hear that fair and balanced theme , but the credit card industry would not allow it . 
they would not tolerate any effort to make them accountable , no matter how minimal . 
to cite just one example , myself and the gentleman from north carolina ( mr. watt ) xz4004240 proposed an amendment to limit the interest charged on a credit card to 75 percent . 
i said 75 percent . 
the credit card industry said , no ; and , of course , their supporters defeated our amendment ; and this amendment is not before us today . 
i would suggest 75 percent is not bad , even by mafia standards . 
loan sharking used to be a crime in this country . 
maybe this bill should be renamed as the loan sharking decriminalization act of 2000 . 
we hear the term personal responsibility , but when it comes to the concept of corporate responsibility , silence . 
