Contact:Jodie Silverman
jsilverman@publicampaign.org
QUID PRO QUO PRACTICE OF DOLLAR DEMOCRACY
Rep. McCollum Cited for Contributions from Credit Card Industry
WASHINGTON, DC Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla) became the first recipient of the "Golden Leash Award" from Public Campaign today, in recognition of his ties to the special interests who help fund his campaigns.
The original sponsor of H.R. 2500, The Responsible Borrower Protection Act, Rep. McCollum has accepted over $350,000 since the start of the decade from the banking and credit companies for which his legislation would amount to a massive windfall.
The Golden Leash Award is a new incarnation of former Senator William Proxmire's legendary Golden Fleece, which spotlighted government waste, fraud and abuse.
"The Golden Leash is symbolic of the tight rein that special interests have, through their campaign contributions, over our elected officials," said Ellen Miller, executive director of Public Campaign.
"Rep. McCollum's actions on behalf of the billion-dollar credit industry which has rewarded him with over $350,000 in campaign contributions are proof that special interests have greater influence on our democratic process than the public interest."
"Very simply, it's time that politicians like Rep. McCollum be held accountable for the money they take."
Rep. McCollum's bill would make it easier for credit card companies to recover debt much of it from low-income individuals while doing nothing to crack down on their common and irresponsible practice of over-extending easy credit in the first place. The bill which has been incorporated into major legislation being pushed through the House by Reps. George Gekas (R-PA) and Jim Moran (D-VA) would force more individuals to file under a section of the bankruptcy code that makes it easier for credit card companies to recoup their debt, even placing them ahead of other expenses such as mortgage payments, child support and auto loans according to consumer groups. This makes it difficult for those who file for bankruptcy to reorganize and get a fresh start.
An estimated 1.3 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 1997, and much of that debt was due to credit cards. While the middle class is most encumbered by credit card debt, low-income families also bear a serious burden. Credit card companies seem willing to issue a card to anything that moves as we all know from the torrent of offers in our mailboxes and by phone. Yet they are now asking Washington to help bail them out of the problem they created by turning the bankruptcy system into an aggressive collection agency. While some people do exceed their credit card limits irresponsibly and file bankruptcy in order to avoid paying the price for bad decisions, the industry's proposal is overly rigid, egregiously unbalanced and would punish many people who have simply hit hard times.
Where does Rep. McCollum fit in? According to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, Rep. McCollum has received a total of $373,857 from the banking and credit industries since 1991. And the industries' contribution to his campaign chest more than doubled in the 1996 cycle, after the Republicans took control of Congress. Rep. McCollum ranks in the top 2 percent among his House colleagues in contributions from the banking and credit industries over this time period. Rep. McCollum's top donors over the past six years read like a "Who's Who" of groups that would benefit from changes in bankruptcy laws: the American Bankers Association, J.P. Morgan and Co., Citicorp, BankAmerica the list is a long and lucrative one.
"As Rep. McCollum's bill illustrates, all of us are paying the price for the generosity of those special interests to their favorite candidates, in the form of unjustified tax breaks, special favors and other boondoggles granted by politicians to those whose campaign contributions helped to put them in office," Miller concluded.
Public Campaign's Golden Leash Award, will focus on the outrageous favors, access or trade-offs purchased with special interest campaign contributions. The Golden Leash Award will focus public attention on politicians who do particularly egregious favors for their cash constituents, highlighting their captivity to special interests at the expense of average voters, taxpayers and the public at large.
Senator William Proxmire is a member of Public Campaign's National Advisory Board and has bequeathed to us his legendary Golden Fleece Award. Indeed, it was Senator Proxmire himself who said that Congress has a "golden leash" around its neck and that he sees a connection between the pork-barrel politics he highlighted years ago and the special interest campaign contributions that have grown exponentially through the years.
Public Campaign is a non-partisan, non-profit organization working on behalf of comprehensive campaign finance reform.
Updated 98/04/10
by webmaster@vote-al.org
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