Mary Kleiss’s credit card struggles began to spiral out of control in 2006. Her husband Joe, a World War II veteran, had just passed away. In the midst of grieving his loss and making funeral arrangements, Mary fell behind a month on making her Bank of America credit card payment.

A few months later, Mary noticed that Bank of America had raised the interest rate on her card without any advance notice. Besides missing that card payment when her husband died, Mary was sure she had always paid her bills on time and never gone over her credit limit.  She called to complain and her rate was lowered. But a few months later, it happened again — Mary’s interest rate nearly doubled without any notice. This time when she called to complain, she wasn’t so lucky. She was told she had been deemed a “high-risk” customer, despite her excellent credit history, and there was nothing she could do but pay the new higher rate.  

That new rate effectively doubled Mary’s minimum monthly payments. Mary was stung with another blow a few months later when she noticed that the interest rate on her Discover card had also doubled to a whopping 28.99 percent, even though she had never missed a payment on that card. Discover also refused to lower her rate. Struggling to now make ends meet on just one income, Mary simply couldn’t keep up with her credit card payments.

The harassing phone calls from collectors began, at work and at home — as many as 32 a day. Mary lost her job in February and, at 67 years old, knows it will be difficult to find another. She contemplated refinancing her home to help pay the bills and dig herself out of debt, but the housing slump has hit her Florida community hard and the value of her house just isn’t what it used to be.

Unemployed, in debt, and alone, Mary has nowhere to turn.

Unfortunately, there are far too many responsible, hardworking Americans in the same situation as Mary.

The average American family now carries over $8,000 in credit card debt. That number is only expected to rise as employers continue to slash payrolls, and consumers confront a crumbling housing market in which they can no longer refinance homes to pay off credit cards and other debt.

Cardholders who live beyond their means should be held accountable for their actions.  But in many cases, it is unfair credit card company practices and not irresponsible consumer spending that contributes to the debt of average hardworking Americans like Mary.

In recent years, the playing field between credit card companies and credit cardholders has become very one-sided. It is no surprise that it’s average American cardholders, and not the big credit card companies who are getting the short end of the stick.

A credit card agreement is supposed to be a contract, but what good is a contract when only one party has any power to make decisions? Cardholders deserve more bargaining power. Congress can and should help level the playing field for them.

I introduced the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights (H.R. 5244) to give American credit card holders a fair deal. My comprehensive credit card reform bill takes a balanced approach to reforming major industry abuses and improving consumer protections for cardholders. It would put an end to many of the tricks and traps that make cardholders incur interest rate hikes and pricey fees. It would also protect cardholders from arbitrary interest rate hikes, hidden fees, due date gimmicks, and misleading account terms.  

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights is the product of more than a year of deliberative study and analysis.  It encourages fair competition and sets no price controls, rate caps, or fees. I believe the free market works best when consumers are empowered to make their own choices, and my bill would give cardholders the information and the rights they need to make decisions about their own credit.

I am holding the first hearing on the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights today in my subcommittee. I look forward to engaging in a productive dialogue with cardholders, legal and economic experts, and credit card industry representatives about the bill’s merits.

H.R. 5244 already has the bipartisan support of over 75 of my congressional colleagues, and I expect it will garner even more support after today’s hearing. Newspapers, TV stations and columnists from around the country have all praised the bill as being sensible, balanced, and long overdue. I look forward to moving it forward so we can give cardholders a fair deal and ensure that credit isn’t the next shoe to drop in the current economic downturn.

Maloney is a member of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.