00:00 Mr. President, one of our important responsibilities in Congress is to protect American consumers.
00:07 But allies of big business and Wall Street, who always fear threats to their bottom lines,
00:13 have been working overtime to convince consumers that a bill that I've introduced with Senator
00:18 Marshall, the Credit Card Competition Act, will do more harm than good.
00:23 The latest tactic, they're recruiting allies from the airline industry.
00:29 United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby recently said that our bill would "kill rewards programs."
00:38 Let me be very clear, this is false.
00:41 Moreover, this past July, Forbes published an article saying that compared to other nations,
00:47 airline rewards programs in the United States have made it more challenging to earn and
00:52 redeem miles.
00:55 Because while the airline industry is trying to argue that my bill would stifle competition
01:03 in their loyalty programs, it is actually their own questionable practices that threaten
01:07 American consumers' ability to redeem rewards.
01:11 Let me explain.
01:12 The airline industry knows how much consumers value rewards programs.
01:17 Over 100 million Americans participate.
01:20 These programs originated as a way to reward true frequent flyers for their loyalty and
01:25 patronage, and today millions of Americans participate.
01:29 But these programs have evolved to include co-branded credit cards that focus on dollars
01:35 spent using those cards.
01:37 Mr. President, you and I spend a big part of our lives on airplanes.
01:41 I don't know about your experience, but I'll tell you what mine is.
01:44 As soon as they have us in our seats, buckled in, they start advertising their credit cards.
01:49 I've seen times when flight attendants walk up and down the aisles passing out brochures
01:54 for people to consider enlisting in their credit card program.
01:58 And then as you're leaving the plane, they're there once again passing them out.
02:02 They seem to focus as much on credit cards as they do on safety in these airplanes.
02:07 You have to ask yourself why.
02:10 It turns out there's one basic reason for it.
02:13 Airlines make more money off the co-branded credit cards they issue than they do from
02:19 aviation programs.
02:21 At the same time, they're showing troubling reports that airlines use their loyalty programs
02:26 to engage in abusive, unfair, and sometimes deceptive practices.
02:32 Airlines incentivize Americans to purchase goods and services, obtain certain credit
02:37 cards and spend as much money as they can on the cards in exchange for promised rewards.
02:42 And all the while, they retain the right to strip consumers of these rewards or alter
02:47 the terms of the programs at will.
02:50 For example, there are troubling reports that airlines may be devaluing the miles that you
02:55 accumulate, making it harder for consumers to ever achieve promised rewards.
03:00 At certain times, the cost of purchasing points from airlines' websites may be up to three
03:05 times the value of the points at redemption.
03:08 This is a ripoff with wings.
03:11 We must do more to protect American consumers.
03:13 In October, I wrote to the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, to express my concern about
03:19 these unfair practices.
03:20 And in March, he replied, "I was pleased to read that DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer
03:26 Protection is using its authority to initiate a review of airlines' reward programs.
03:32 DOT has been meeting with major U.S. airlines to get more information on exactly how these
03:36 frequent flyer programs work."
03:39 Secretary Buttigieg shared with me that DOT has the necessary authority to investigate
03:45 the programs and take enforcement.
03:48 The Secretary also announced a joint hearing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
03:52 That's good news for consumers.
03:54 That meeting took place this morning to discuss airline credit cards and frequent flyer programs
04:00 with industry representatives, labor leaders, and consumers.
04:05 These are important steps forward in the conversation.
04:08 I thank Secretary Buttigieg for showing this initiative.
04:12 Just last week, I had a chance to raise the issue directly with him in an open hearing
04:15 of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.
04:18 Once again, I was glad to hear the Department of Transportation also is concerned with airline
04:23 shady practices and seeks to protect Americans.
04:27 This week, the Senate's been considering the FAA reauthorization bill.
04:32 I support a provision which made the final bill that would create a Senate-confirmed
04:36 Assistant Secretary for the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer
04:41 Protection.
04:42 I think it's important to put somebody in this post who can have better oversight of
04:46 frequent flyer programs for the consumers of America.
04:50 We should pass a reauthorization bill as quickly as possible to ensure there's no lapse in
04:55 resources for our nation's airports, air traffic controllers, the aviation industry, and all
05:00 the passengers.
05:02 Employed by the credit card and airline industry, critics accuse me of jeopardizing America's
05:07 airline rewards with my idea of competition on credit cards.
05:12 This isn't true.
05:14 Modern-day airlines have become credit card companies that also happen to own airplanes.
05:19 And it's their deceptive practices that threaten Americans' ability to redeem rewards that
05:23 they have earned.
05:25 I'm committed to holding both industries accountable for exploiting hardworking consumers to further
05:30 line their own pockets.
05:31 I yield the floor.
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