Dingell Explains Decades-Long Quest for Health Reform, and Other News
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Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) has been fighting for health care reform for more than 50 years, and he’s seen the situation become even more dire over the past decade. In a great new op-ed, he explains the hard truths of our broken system and why we can’t wait any longer for health care reform:
This is not a time to give into fear….Reform is neither easy nor cheap, but the cost of inaction is far greater—in terms of lives lost, quality of life, and dollars. Make no mistake, if we don’t reduce costs we face certain economic disaster.
I will tell my fellow members, when you explain a vote like this one to the generations that live with the consequences of these decisions there is no poll, not even an election result, that can justify your decision. You will be asked about this vote until the day you die. Years from now, none of these things we put so much stock in now will matter. All anyone will want to know is: did you do the right thing when history called on you? It is time for health care reform. We can’t afford to wait. We can’t afford to think small. We can’t afford to fail.
Bill Now in the Senate Addresses Credit Card Abuse
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If you have a credit card, and most of us have more than one, you’ve likely opened a monthly bill and seen your interest rate jump, even if you have an on-time payment record. Or worse: A company will increase the interest rate on a card raised because you’re not using it enough.
Then there’s the fine print, fees, penalties and changes in the rules that credit companies are piling on consumers, usually buried in a legalese-loaded notice too small to read without a magnifying glass.
A bill that could come to a U.S. Senate vote this week—debate starts Monday with a vote expected Wednesday—would put an end to deceptive and abusive credit card practices that are hurting honest and hard working families.
The AFL-CIO, Union Privilege, the Consumers Union and dozens of consumer, civil rights and community groups are urging the Senate to pass S. 414, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.
